As the school year winds down, many working parents face a seasonal challenge that’s as predictable as it is taxing: how to stay productive at work while managing the logistics, emotions, and expectations that come with kids being home for the summer. For parents in leadership roles, the stakes can feel even higher.
Over the past decade, as a mother of three and a leader in human resources and people operations, I’ve learned firsthand how parenthood profoundly shapes one’s approach to work and life.
But these challenges are not just personal, they’re organizational. If employers don’t address the summer wellness support gap, they risk employee burnout, decreased productivity, and long-term attrition.
It’s crucial that parents feel seen, supported, and empowered to thrive, both at home and in their professional lives.
Why the Summer Crunch is Different and More Stressful
Summer means parents suddenly take on the additional roles of full-time caregivers, activity planners, and sometimes even tutors, often while still carrying a full professional workload.
With school out, daily routines dissolve, screen time goes up, childcare becomes patchworked, and workdays are punctuated by snack requests, playtime, and pleas for attention. For parents in high-pressure roles, this creates a relentless push-pull, fueling guilt, exhaustion, and a constant sense of falling short in both spheres.
What’s the solution?
Boundaries, Flexibility, and Mental Health First
Here is a take that some may find controversial: the concept of “balance” is a myth. We often chase it only to feel more disappointed because it’s an unattainable ideal.
Instead, I focus on integration—weaving work, parenting, and self-care together throughout the day in a way that honors each of these priorities.
Presence is key. This means truly being in the moment, whether on a leadership call or with my kids. And that’s harder than ever in today’s always-on world, where Zoom fatigue and Slack notifications fragment our attention. Being on all the time blurs boundaries and drains our energy.
In my own professional and personal life, I’ve learned that rather than letting the summer months derail my rhythm, I encourage a handful of practices to stay aligned:
Calendar Management and Sacred Personal Time
Build intentional breaks into your day for mental rest. Don’t overbook yourself and respect your own boundaries.
When time becomes more limited, especially for working parents, calendars need to do more than just reflect your next meeting. They should actively support your energy and focus. That means intentionally scheduling short breaks throughout the day to reset and decompress. Even just 10 to 15 minutes between video calls can dramatically reduce fatigue.
Without a set time for personal recovery, burnout becomes inevitable. Whether it’s a morning workout, a midweek therapy session, or a summer Friday reset for rest and solitude, carving out nonnegotiable time for yourself is critical.
This isn’t about being selfish. It’s about making sure you have the energy and clarity to show up fully for both work and family.
Practice Presence
Train Yourself to be fully engaged with whichever role you’re in at the moment, whether a meeting or a family dinner. Reduce multitasking when possible.
When everything happens under one roof, it’s easy to blend work and home roles until neither gets your full attention. Practicing presence and focusing completely on the task or person in front of you can help reestablish meaningful boundaries and reduce guilt.
If you’re leading an all-hands or helping out with your daughter’s next vocab test homework, being fully present strengthens trust, deepens relationships, and improves performance. But presence isn’t automatic. It’s a discipline that requires reducing distractions and intentionally shifting focus before you log off for the day.
Open Communication
Negotiate clearly with your employer and colleagues, and at home. Share what you need and listen to the needs of others to find win-win solutions.
Work-life intention hinges on mutual understanding. Whether you’re agreeing on what to make for dinner with your partner or negotiating hours with a manager, clear communication is key.
For me, it took clear conversations to protect the time I needed to recharge. Every Saturday, my husband takes the kids out so I can have uninterrupted hours to myself. That understanding allows me to reset only because we’ve agreed on it and protect it.
The same principle applies at work. I’ve carved out a few mornings a week for workouts, and that means my first meeting on those days doesn’t begin until a bit later. That boundary is known and respected because I communicated it clearly, and I show up better because of it.
Transparency and courage in these conversations foster trust and make it easier to adjust as circumstances evolve.
Community Support
Join or create employee resource groups to share advice and reduce stigma. Consider coaching or mentoring to gain tailored support on navigating parenting challenges in a work context.
Connecting with other working parents can be a powerful antidote to isolation and burnout. Whether formalized through an employee resource group or informal lunch-hour chats, these communities, both big and small, offer space to share real-life challenges, swap ideas, and feel understood.
Parent-focused groups, especially, help reduce stigma by normalizing common experiences, from managing day camp delays to navigating guilt over missed work milestones. These groups remind parents they’re not alone and that shared understanding is a strength, not a vulnerability.
Additionally, coaching offers personalized support that acknowledges the complex intersection of parenting and professional growth.
A coach can help clarify values, improve time management, and provide a safe space to work through challenges like setting boundaries, managing burnout, or feeling pulled in multiple directions. For some, coaching also provides an accessible starting point for broader mental wellness work, making it easier to take proactive steps before stress becomes overwhelming.
Mental Health Resources
Take advantage of the mental health benefits available to you, and seek help early if you feel it’s needed.
Many mental health challenges escalate not because support isn’t available, but because people wait too long to ask for it. Tapping into therapy resources or EAP services, even when you’re curious, can help reduce stress before it snowballs into something more serious. It also sends a powerful message: mental well-being is just as important as physical health.
Organizations that promote early access to resources and normalize their use create cultures where seeking help is seen as a strength, not a shortcoming.
Lasting trust and engagement
As leaders, we often talk about bringing our whole selves to work. For working parents, that includes showing up with the joys, stresses, and logistics of family life, especially in the summer.
The good news is that with the right support in place, parents don’t have to choose between professional success and family well-being. They can create workplaces where parents thrive professionally without sacrificing family connections. By prioritizing mental health, offering flexible solutions, and fostering a culture of compassion, employers can turn a seasonal challenge into an opportunity for lasting trust and engagement.
As more leaders adopt this approach, the entire organization benefits from healthier, more engaged, and more loyal teams.
