Parents' Workplace Absences at an All-Time High, as They Need to Take Care of Their Sick Kids, New Data Says

Viral infections such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), flu, and COVID keep kids out of school and their parents absent from work.

New data gathered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that workplace absences are at an all-time high for October, as the need for parents to stay at home rises due to childcare problems.

Some 100,000 Americans and more were absent from work last month because of unprecedented challenges due to a new round of viruses and staffing shortages at schools and daycare centers.

And these absences are creating ripples across the economy and giving so much stress to families and businesses.

Taking a toll on the economy

Senior Economist at Wells Fargo, Sarah House, described the current situation as a "drag on productivity." She said that child care has always been one of the obstacles for working parents, but the recent problems with inconsistent childcare, meaning when the child is sick or needs to quarantine or the daycare is closed, is making it hard for these parents to be present in the labor force.

Almost three years after the pandemic, and working through post-pandemic, families, businesses, education and healthcare facilities are expressing "renewed" stress and pressure.

Children's hospitals are hugely at full or almost full capacity nationwide because of RSV and other respiratory viruses. Workplaces report unfilled shifts and revenue lost as employees cannot go to work for extended periods.

America's childcare system is still staggering from thousands of educators and staffers who left in exchange for higher-paying jobs. Public schools are short of nearly 300,000 workers, while daycare centers are down to 88,000 employees since pre-pandemic.

And parents, unfortunately, are placed in an impossible position once again, trying to ensure yet finding it so hard to juggle and balance their sick children, school and daycare center closures and career demands.

These pressures are said to be taking a toll on the economy. According to Business Report, the first half of 2022 revealed the "sharpest plunge" on record for worker productivity, the measure of goods produced and services done by an employee in an hour.

"We have sick kids at the same time we have a childcare crisis - you put the two together, and there just isn't any wiggle room. People are falling through the cracks. It means missed paychecks, disruptions at home, and staffing shortages that erode productivity growth and increase costs at a time when we're already worried about those things," explained chief economist at KPMG, Diane Swonk.

Low-income families are most affected

The low-income families, who are less likely to receive paid sick leave and employer-provided health insurance, are the ones that have been hit so hard. The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that only 40 percent of the lowest earners received paid sick leave in 2021 compared to 96 percent of America's highest-paid workers.

The couple, Drew and Raven Moore from Sevier County, Tennessee, weren't able to receive paid leave. Their two and four-year-old kids have been sick for weeks, and both needed to cut back at work, which also means cutting about $30,000 from their annual household income.

Drew talked to the Washington Post and shared that he missed out on a thousand dollars worth of landscaping projects this fall, while Raven had to give up weekend shifts at the steakhouse restaurant where she works. He further expressed that the timing is just so bad as the business is at its busiest in the fall, which means income opportunities are also at their highest.

He said that fall is the time they make money in their place, and it usually gets them through the rest of the year, yet it has also been the time that their children's sickness kicked off. He expressed that he is scared that the work absences and the lost job opportunities will "screw" them financially.