The latest Family Barometer by the advocacy group Pro Familia has revealed what families in Switzerland are worried about in 2023. While most households are happy with their situation right now, over half of respondents feel that their personal and financial situation will get worse in the next three years.
Out of the 2.000 families surveyed from across Swiss cities and cantons, 76 percent said that they are happy with their life at the moment. However, 68 percent expect that their own situation will start to get worse in the next three years.
In 41 percent of families, parents claim that their salaries are barely enough to keep up with their expenses, while 6 percent say they cannot make ends meet. Limited financial resources were most common in Canton Ticino, among families with small children and in single-parent households.
In order to cut back on spending, 40 percent of families reported taking fewer holidays. Some other popular ways to save money were having fewer meals at restaurants (33 percent), fewer day trips to museums, the cinema and other attractions (27) and cutting back on hobbies like sports and music (14).
Another issue noted by the study related to childcare: around 66 percent of parents think that maternity and paternity leave in Switzerland is too short and that as a result they are forced to take fewer working hours in order to care for their children. This also has knock-on effects on long-term planning with between 34 and 43 percent saying they would not be financially secure if one parent were to retire suddenly or have to take disability insurance.
On the flip side, while many families report feeling the squeeze in their finances, most think that they maintain a positive work-life balance. 64 percent of those surveyed said they were happy with their workload and that their employers were helpful in providing flexible work contracts and other benefits.