The morning dash has never been busier for British working parents according to new research released today, which reveals their wake-up routine adds an additional day’s work on top of their nine to five jobs every week.
On average, school-age parents leap out of bed at 6.01am (with one third up before 5.30am) to ensure they can complete a checklist of 43 tasks – taking more than two hours – before they even get to work. This amounts to 10 hours 15 mins every week, equivalent to more than a whole additional working day.
The study of 2,000 working parents with children of school age was commissioned by Kellogg’s to celebrate the launch of new Nutri-Grain snack bars, which are made with six B vitamins and iron, known to help release energy from the food we eat and keep us fueled up on busy days.
Before having children, parents did an average of 10 tasks, less than a quarter of their morning checklist post-kids.
From preparing kids for after-school clubs, tidying, checking calendars, filling out permission slips and scrolling through social media feeds, almost nine in ten parents (87 per cent) said they often feel like they’ve already done a day’s work by 11am.
63 per cent of parents claim to be ‘morning people’, and the hour between seven and eight is when they feel they are at their most productive. However, 89 per cent experience a slump in energy levels by mid-morning and 90 per cent said they’re in need of a pick-me-up snack to keep them going until lunchtime.
Typically at their desk by 9am (average 8.59am), 80 per cent of parents said they soon become ‘hangry’ because they haven’t eaten enough that morning. Just under half (44 per cent) admitted that being ‘hangry’ at work had led to arguments with colleagues and 85 per cent said their productivity or concentration plummeted.
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