WHAT THE DATA SAY: 79% would be more loyal if employers better supported parents

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:

CHILDCARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN RETIREMENT

Childcare has overtaken retirement benefits in the workplace, and most employees believe their employer is falling behind, based on new Harris Poll research with KinderCare.

• 85% of all working parents say childcare benefits should be treated as essential – on par with health and retirement benefits.
• 79% of working parents would be more loyal to their company if their employer supported them better as a parent.
• 1 in 3 employers offers no child care benefits today.
• Parents report missing work (50%), reducing work hours (35%), and experiencing tension with managers (28%) and coworkers (24%) due to a lack of reliable child care.

EMPLOYEES = BEST STORYTELLERS

Consumers trust employees more than any other company communications for storytelling, according to our Harris Poll research.

• 74% say employees are more influential than marketing in shaping a company’s brand.
• 78% say posts from employees are more authentic than posts from official corporate accounts.
• 49% say posts from non-executives feel authentic, compared with 12% of posts from executives.
• Adults are more likely to apply (74%) and support (70%) a company after seeing employee experiences.
• Yet 64% of employees say they’ve rarely or never posted about their current employer, job or industry.
• 36% are not confident they can share honest opinions about their company online without fear of retaliation.

PETS OVER CHILDREN?

The perception that Gen Z and Millennials see pets are less of a financial burden than children is outdated, according to our Harris Poll research with Empower research.

• 42% of Gen Z and Millennials say they prefer pets to children because they view them as less financially burdensome.
• Yet, since 2020, pet care costs have increased more than childcare costs (34.6% higher for pets versus 25.8% higher for children).
• 43% of dog owners are concerned about rising costs of pet care.
• 60% of Gen Z and Millennial pet owners prioritize spending on their pets over themselves.
• 35% of Americans say their pets motivate them to work harder and seek higher pay.

UNSANCTIONED AI

Chief innovation officers are facing the consequences of an AI governance gap, according to our Harris Poll research with Dataitku.

• 89% of CIOs say unfettered AI access will create significant technical debt within organizations.
• 82% say they are creating AI apps and agents faster than IT can govern them.
• Only 25% have full visibility into all agents in production.

ICYMI: In case you missed it, check out the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• Astrology Is The New Career Counselor (Harris Poll)
• Ask these 6 money questions on a first date (Harris Poll)
• Is ‘Design’ Creative? (Instrument)
• Guide to Ramadan 2026 (Assembly)
• The Numbers are Clear: Latest Iteration of Stagwell’s News Advertising Study Shows Germans Love Their News (Stagwell’s Future of News)