Support Caregivers in the Workplace
April is National Care Worker recognition month. How many of your employees are also serving as caregivers? It's important to create inclusive practices for caregiving employees. These practices must include pay equity.
Do you remember the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that actually happened in 2021? You may remember Simone Biles taking a break from the gymnastics team competition to care for her mental health. After these Olympics, athletes from all over the world discussed the stress and isolation that happened in the Olympic village due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Specifically, family members could not travel with or visit the athletes.
Athletes who were nursing children were prevented from bringing their babies. After a huge outcry from several high-profile women athletes, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee reversed the decision. However, athletes who were nursing still scrambled for child care amidst protection protocols since they could not bring family members. The apparel company Athleta and Olympian Allyson Felix launched a fund to help athletes offset funds for childcare during competition travel.
Caregiving is defined as “the activity or profession of regularly looking after a child, or a sick, elderly, or disabled person.” (Oxford Language) When you hear the word caregiving, what picture comes to mind? Maybe it’s an older woman who serves as a nanny. Maybe it’s someone working full-time in a nursing home. Or maybe it’s the teenager down the street who occasionally babysits for your neighbors. Caregiving is diverse in its participation and structure.
The COVID-19 pandemic opened windows into our personal lives with layoffs, virtual school, and working from home. Women carried much of that financial burden by leaving the workforce for caregiving responsibilities. Yet caregiving is not just a women’s issue. Caregiving reaches across every demographic. The Center for Disease Control published these insights, which were collected from community-dwelling adults 45 years of age and older in 2015-2017 through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
22.3% of adults reported providing care or assistance to a friend or family member in the past 30 days.
One in three caregivers (31.3%), provided 20 or more hours per week of care and over half (53.8%) have given care or assistance for 24 months or more.
17.2% of middle–aged and older adults who are not currently caregivers expect to provide care or assistance in the next two years to a friend or family member with a health problem or a disability.
17.6% of caregivers reported experiencing 14 or more physically unhealthy days in the past month.
58% of caregivers identify as women.
All working people with caregiving responsibilities need help in order to work at some point in their career.
Did you know that caregiving accounts for a large amount of unpaid labor in our country? Why is that? Let’s explore the financial and emotional impact of being a caregiver:
Brett and Sally are both working adults with two children ages 1 and 9. The 1-year old attends a local child care center, and the 9-year old attends a local public school. Brett works as mechanic at a car dealership, and Sally works in retail at a local small business. While public school is free, Brett and Sally pay $600 per month for childcare (the 2023 national average cost of childcare). Unfortunately, the child care center is understaffed and plans to close in two months. No other child care centers have openings for the next six months. How will Brett and Sally continue working?
Alan’s partner, Elijah, was just involved in a car accident and experienced a traumatic brain injury. The doctors say that recovery could take months and possibly even years. Elijah will be unable to work for a long time. Thankfully, his long-term disability policy will replace some of his income. But Alan will need to take Elijah to all the therapy and doctor appointments in addition to helping with daily needs. How will Alan continue performing well in this job with all of his new caregiving responsibilities?
Janelle’s dad was just diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 65. His health insurance only pays a little toward home health services, and her dad doesn’t have much money in retirement. As the only child, Janelle feels responsible for her dad and wants to ensure these increasingly difficult days are met with dignity and love. Janelle doesn’t have much money saved, so she uses her credit cards to move her dad into her house to care for him. She knows it’s a temporary solution to a long-term care issue. What will Janelle do to keep her job and care for her dad?
These are three of a million caregiving examples that I could give. All of the examples are nuanced and embedded in deep love. The caregiving spectrum is wide, and the needs are expansive. And caregiving costs a lot of time, money, and physicality for the caregiver. The average caregiver spends $7,500-$10,000 per year for caregiving costs (CDC, 2023).
After many years of caregivers being underpaid, the tipping point came in 2019 when the costs of formal services like childcare began increasing significantly. The number of formal service providers gradually decreased, especially in non-urban areas, because they were underpaid. Fast-forward to 2024, it’s a classic supply and demand issue. Caregiving agencies and certification courses are popping up all around us to fill the demand, but very few people can afford to pay these “professional caregivers”. Therefore, informal caregivers are filling the gaps by taking off work for extended periods of time and/or searching for remote and more asynchronous positions to ensure schedule flexibility.
Have you ever heard someone say, “No one will work anymore?” I always want to answer, “You’re damn straight. If you have to care for someone, it’s cheaper to stay home.”
Non-caregivers may not fully grasp the depth of this issue. Imagine adding a 20% cost to your monthly expenses for caregiving. Your monthly expenses might be $5,000 per month now, and you need to pay $1,000 per month to a caregiver. You must invest time into finding the right caregiver – one with qualifications and experience. You also want to find someone who works well with the person who needs care. You may need to use a facility, like a daycare, to provide schedule consistency so you can work, which means an added transportation cost. Your health insurance may or may not cover these expenses. However, the child care center that is closest to your home/work may not be able to accommodate your needs. Or you may be assuming that there are many daycares located near your home when, in fact, your income may determine your accessibility. For example, higher-income neighborhoods tend to have more childcare options.
Caregiving responsibilities not only impact employees but also companies. If a company is located in a childcare desert, then you are limiting the diversity of candidates. If a company does not offer paid leave or explicitly share their paid leave policies in the hiring process, then you are limiting the diversity of candidates. If a company does not train managers to support caregivers on their teams, then you are limiting the diversity of candidates.