Much has been written about the “sandwich generation”. On Mother’s Day, let’s honor those who are moms, who have moms and acknowledge all they do for so many!
The sandwich generation faces caregiving from two sides of the coin: parents and children. Both sides are highly dependent upon them to act on their behalf. The responsibilities are heightened when health issues are present. Demands on time make it tough to “manage it all”.
Today, we’ll take a look at caregiving, the impact to employers, employees and possible approaches moving forward to ease the load.
Sandwich Caregivers
Sandwich caregivers care for both children and older individuals, like aging parents or relatives. Around 12% of the population are part of the sandwich generation, according to the Pew Research Center. On average, caregivers spend around a quarter of their income on caring for their relatives, according to AARP.
Impact to Employees and Employers
Employers be alert! Do you know what impact caregiving has on your workforce?
Did you know that employees spend an average of 24 hours a week on caregiving tasks? Given this huge time demand, it’s probably not surprising that 67% of the global workforce say they have been forced to make a compromise between their work and their personal life because of the impact of the pandemic, especially for women and parents. And 1 in 6 working parents report that they, or a member of their household, has already stopped working voluntarily.
Recent reports indicate only half of employed caregivers say their manager is aware of their caregiving responsibilities, therefore companies may be underestimating the impact caregiving could have on their workforce.
Three Main Areas of Impact to an Organization
1. Productivity
Imagine the mental and emotional toll on a worker trying to sustain performance at work while caring for a loved one. Unpaid caregivers face many challenges connected with their service, including difficulty in maintaining productivity, and reduced financial, emotional, and physical health. 28% have stopped saving, 57% report clinically significant levels of stress, anxiety, or depression and 53% say they have had to go to work late, leave early, or take time off.
2. Retention
Employees facing these responsibilities may sacrifice more than time and energy. Some caregivers have pared back their career ambitions, others reduced their working hours, and still others left the workforce altogether. Forty-five percent have considered leaving the workforce due to personal demands compared to 19% of non-caregivers.
3. Diversity and inclusion
Not everyone on your team is equally impacted by caregiving duties. More than 2.5 million women left the workforce in the first 12 months of the pandemic, compared to 1.8 million men. Mothers are 40% more likely than fathers to say they have felt the negative impact of childcare issues on their careers.
Everyone within a company has a role to play
Employees. As an employee, it’s important to be aware of your employer’s available services or benefits to help ease your caregiving burden. Before and during benefit enrollment season, research what’s available within your organization and your community and take advantage of services offered.
Managers. Managers should also understand the available organizational support services and communicate them. Ideally, managers could formulate ways to “back-up” team members work wise, allowing people to step-in to share the load of day to day responsibilities.
Leadership Roundtables Providing a forum for employees at all levels to discuss support services of interest to them is a good start! Seek ways to dramatically impact the workplace experience by reevaluating the support services available in your supplemental benefits portfolio after these forums. Creative approaches are needed now more than ever.
Call for Flexibility
Of the nearly 53 million caregivers in the U.S., 28% are sandwich caregivers, according to a report by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving.
Financial strain caused by the expenses of caregiving is an immediate issue for many in the sandwich generation. Adult care costs combined with child care costs necessitate working while caregiving. It’s tough to plan for retirement when day to day demands are so high.
Facing an increasingly aging population and unsettled health environment, finding ways to support employee caregivers allows everyone to stay engaged and productive while creating a caring workplace culture. Attending numerous webinars about this topic of late, finances and flexibility benefit/services have been highly sought after by employees from coast to coast.
Care for People Care for Business
People are business. Business and life intersect every day. Navigating business and life simultaneously can present challenges and opportunities.
An opportunity I see is an ability to work directly with employees at all levels within an organization to focus on contingency planning for business and life.
If this hits home for you, reach out anytime by email: Lynn@thelivingplanner.com. I’m creating a “Contingency Roadmap” 12 Week Live Workshop for interested people in a Beta format next month. Let’s get you started!
Check out all my online offerings, resources, and information focused on the interconnected aspects of life: https://bit.ly/LPCourses.
Join me for a Live Class on Tuesdays at 4:30pm Pacific Time through June 5 Practical Tips Before Kids Leave Home Join us! https://courses.thelivingplanner.com/https-courses-thelivingplanner-com-live-classes
“Spring is the time of plans and projects.” — Leo Tolstoy
Have a great week–Lynn
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