As organisations navigate relentless change, how can employers better support their people – particularly those balancing work with caring responsibilities?
This will be the focus of the next Make a Difference Leaders’ Lunch, taking place on 11 June in London, bringing together employer leaders for a closed-door conversation on how to support employees through uncertainty while building healthier workplace cultures.
Research conducted as part of the Make a Difference Leaders’ Survey 2026 found that one of the most pressing issues for workplace culture, health and wellbeing leaders is how to help colleagues navigate the constant change and uncertainty that now defines working life.
From geopolitical instability and rapid AI-driven transformation to economic pressure, restructuring and organisational redesign, many employees are facing unprecedented levels of disruption. For employers, the challenge is no longer whether change is happening, but how to support people through it in ways that protect both wellbeing and performance.
Why parents and carers need particular attention
For many employees, these workplace pressures are compounded by caring responsibilities at home, making parents and carers one of the groups most vulnerable to the ripple effects of sustained uncertainty.
The scale of this challenge is reflected in Deloitte’s 2024 report, Mental health and employers: The case for employers to invest in supporting working parents and a mentally healthy workplace, which found that 46% of working parents are concerned about their children’s mental health.
Almost three in 10 identified this as their biggest worry, with half saying those concerns were affecting their performance at work. Deloitte estimated the resulting productivity impact at £8 billion annually for UK employers through reduced performance, time off and employee turnover.
These concerns are unfolding against a wider societal backdrop of growing anxiety about young people’s futures.
The sharp rise in the number of young people who are NEET (not in education, employment or training) — and growing evidence linking this trend to worsening mental health – has prompted the independent Milburn Review into youth inactivity, sitting alongside the government’s wider Keep Britain Working Review agenda.
Together, these developments point to a growing recognition that supporting employee wellbeing cannot be separated from the wider pressures affecting families and communities.
A practical conversation for employer leaders
Against this backdrop, the next Leaders’ Lunch will provide an opportunity for leaders from across sectors to share ideas, challenges and best practice approaches in a confidential environment.
The discussion will focus on how organisations can better support working parents and carers while building resilience across the wider workforce.
The conversation will be framed by an expert panel chaired by Dame Carol Black, helping to shape discussion around practical strategies for supporting employees through periods of uncertainty.
Topics will include:
- Best-practice principles for leading through change and transformation
- Practical ways to support working parents and carers during periods of uncertainty
- Building organisational resilience without compromising employee wellbeing
- Creating cultures where employees feel able to speak openly about pressures inside and outside work
- Embedding preventative support that helps people stay well and productive through disruption
Creating space for honest dialogue
The confidential setting is designed to encourage open discussion, shared learning and the exchange of practical ideas that leaders can take back into their organisations.
At a time when change is accelerating and workforce pressures are becoming increasingly complex, the event offers an important opportunity for employers to benchmark approaches and shape collective thinking on one of the defining workplace challenges of 2026.
The lunch, for up to 50 employers, is sponsored by RISE Mutual CIC and hosted by Visa Europe at its offices near Paddington in central London.
Limited places remaining
With 25 of the 50 places already allocated, employer leaders interested in joining the conversation are encouraged to register soon. The event is free to attend.
If you are an employer (and not a supplier of workplace culture, employee health and wellbeing products or services) and would like to attend, please contact info@makeadifference.media. A representative of your Parents & Carers employee resource group (or the equivalent) is also welcome to attend.
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