Family Caregivers are Stressed, Tired—and in Your Workforce

Caregiver support programs are a trending employee mental health benefit

You may not even recognize today’s family caregiver. Gone is the stereotypical “white-haired lady” caring for her even whiter-haired, fragile mother. The truth is nearly half of all family caregivers

are between 18 and 49 years old. As the population has aged, nearly one   in five people in the US today are serving as a caregiver for a loved one. That’s 53 million people.

And 61 percent of these family caregivers are employed, with three-quarters working 30-40 hours a week, according to Caregiving in the US 2020, a report issued by AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving. 

You may also be surprised to learn that nearly 60 percent of employed caregivers today are men. 

Caregiving takes a toll on employees and their job performance

People serving as family and friend caregivers are a major influence in today’s workforce. And here’s an undeniable fact – it takes a toll on them; 80 percent of employed caregivers admit that their job performance is negatively impacted by their caregiving duties.  

Why? Because caring for someone, particularly an older adult with a chronic condition, is exhausting. Two-thirds of family or friend caregivers admit to feeling moderately to extremely stressed, and on average, caregivers devote an incredible 23.7 hours per week providing care to their loved one. 

The majority report they’ve missed work, come in late or left early, turned down a promotion or even took a leave of absence as a result of the constraints put on them by their caregiving duties. 

Even though the numbers are great and the toll is large, just over half of employed caregivers say their supervisor is aware of their out-of-work responsibilities, which leaves half of them struggling silently.

‘It was a wake-up call for us’

Programs that provide support for employees serving as family caregivers are emerging as a critical employee benefit option, particularly as providers focus on addressing the full scope of emotional and mental health considerations.   

“We were really blown away by the impact of family caregiving in the workplace,” says the HR Manager at one large employer. “Once we became aware of the number of individuals in the workforce who were, in effect, working two jobs and how time-consuming and stressful caregiving really is, we added a caregiver support program to our package immediately.”

What do caregivers need? Resources!

It’s surprising that so many caregivers don’t take advantage of the services that can help them. There can be lots of reasons for that – they don’t know the services are out there, they don’t have time to look for them, and they don’t know where to look. 

“One of the most important things we’re able to do is to give some time back to caregivers,” says Lisa Weitzman, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging. “And we do this by making it easier and more efficient to connect with services in community that can help them care for their loved one. WeCare… Because You Do works with caregivers to identify their most pressing needs and guides them to the professionals, resources and information that can assist them.”  

These resources may be anything from respite services and support groups for their own emotional well-being to current disease research, medical professionals, insurance providers, home safety services, adult day centers, transportation services – whatever they may need but have been unable to access for one reason or another. 

“My Care Consultant talked with me about my health, my personal and family needs, and helped find ways for me to get the break I needed. Without their help, I wouldn’t have known about the all the resources available to help my mom,” says a WeCare client.   

WeCare is a three-month, telephone and email-based program with a primary focus on effecting real and long-term change in the care situation. Which in turn helps to ease the burden on caregivers, decrease their stress levels and, oftentimes, reduce the amount of time devoted to providing care. Working caregivers find lunchtime and evening care-coaching calls easy to fit into their schedule.  

For information on WeCare…Because You Do, contact Lisa at 216-373-1797 or [email protected].