Singles in the workplace are ignored by family-friendly policies. Here’s how employers can fix that

Workers who are single now represent much more of the labor pool than they did a generation ago.

[Photos: Yuri A/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock; Rene L/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock]

In 1960, 72% of adults were married, and over 90% would go on to marry. HR policies and management practices back then catered to nuclear families with a lone, male breadwinner.

Today, dual-career couples and working mothers are common, largely due to the growth of women in the workforce in the second half of the 20th century.

To recruit and retain talent, businesses have expanded family-friendly policies by offering flexible work hours, paid parental leave and subsidized child care. These are much-needed improvements, though many employers still lag in offering them.

Today, another demographic shift also demands employers’ attention: the growing share of the workforce that is single – particularly those without dependents. About 1 in 3 American adults haven’t gotten married by midlife.

More adults aren’t married

The workplace has always included recent grads, never-married professionals, divorced empty nesters and widowed retirees. But these categories now represent a far larger share of the labor force than they did a generation ago – and people move in and out of them throughout their lives.

As a behavioral economist and business school professor, I study what I call the “Solo Economy” – how institutions and markets are adapting, or failing to adapt, to this shift.

Workplace policy is one area where the gap is especially wide.

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