Recently, actor Rob Lowe brought family caregiving into the spotlight by sharing his experience of caring for his mom and the impact it had on his own life. He said, “When you’re caring for a loved one, there’s nothing you won’t do to give them as much comfort and peace of mind as you can possibly provide. Often that means you’ll skip your social obligations, wreck your diet, suffer sleep deprivation, and even risk your career.”
Obviously, this is nothing new to the vast numbers of U.S. workers, (3 out of 4 employees) who are simultaneously serving as a caregiver for a loved one at home. And according to a report carried out by Harvard Business School, 80% of those family caregivers are struggling to keep up with their work commitments as a result of their caregiving duties. And as many as one-third of them end up abandoning their careers to focus more on the care their loved one needs.
However in contrast, businesses appear to be less familiar with the difficulties encountered by their workers, and the strain that comes from balancing duties between home and work, with excuses in the study such as, “It’s none of our business,” and “The volume of use of caregiving benefits is low enough that it is not necessary to track it.” And the vast majority of those staff members agree that their organization’s culture is not as encouraging as they would like in regards to meeting needs on the job as well as needs in the home.
So how can employees help to generate the workplace improvements needed to make certain that the ever-growing army of working family caregivers is provided with both the understanding and resources necessary for an effective work/life balance? It starts with speaking up to build the necessary awareness of the matter. Employers need to better comprehend the impact caregiving has on their workers in order to be able to retain the employees most likely to leave over caregiving stress: younger workers, higher-ranking workers, and higher-earning workers. Investigate and suggest caregiving benefits the employer could offer, and then don’t be afraid to use those benefits when provided.
At the same time, remember that the Hinsdale home care experts at Independence-4-Seniors Home Care provide an extremely personalized care solution that enables employed members of the family to focus more fully on their careers, understanding their senior loved ones are getting the superb care they want at home. Give us a call at (630) 323-4665 or contact us online to arrange a no cost in-home assessment for more information on our specialized in-home care services for seniors, and how we could partner with your employer to investigate caregiving benefit offerings for staff members.