Caregivers are an undervalued yet essential part of society, and you know them. They are your highly-regarded employees, invaluable customers, needed vendors, and maybe even you.

Caregivers provide exceptional care to family members in need, but caregivers are often unsupported despite their enormous contribution.

The AARP Public Policy Institute gives a picture of the enormous amount of time caregivers spend, many on top of their work, to care for a loved one:

• An estimated 53 million adults in the U.S. are caregivers – up from 43.5 million in 2015
• Nearly one in five (19%) provide unpaid care to an adult with health or functional needs
• More Americans (26%) are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia – up from 22% in 2015
• Family caregiving spans all generations, including Boomers, Gen-X, Gen-Z, and Millennials

The time and energy devoted to caring for a loved one can leave caregivers feeling isolated, frustrated, and depressed. Again, these caregivers work for you, buy from you, and provide the resources you need for a thriving business.

Did you know that 32% of employees admitted to leaving jobs that didn’t support their caregiving needs?

When companies support the caregivers who work for them, they meet a growing societal need. Chances are, the effects of caregiving have already impacted your organization or soon will. The statistics above and more are overwhelming in the broad reach of caregiving across all areas of life.

From a business point of view, your company’s support for the caregivers in the community where you have your business, are raising your family, and living your life can: 

• Generate brand awareness
• Build employee and customer loyalty
• Help your company gain visibility
• Increase market value by four 
• Help you successfully expand into new markets

From a human connection side, recognizing and showing appreciation for your employee caregivers by providing them with resources, information, and support can result in lower employee turnover and greater productivity.

Managing Stress When Caregiving

The people working for your company and under your social responsibility mission need support. You may not know who they are, but they may be struggling to juggle their commitment to work and family responsibilities.

Caring for a loved one is an honor for most caregivers, and they wouldn’t do anything else. But unfortunately, while it can be a rewarding experience, with feelings of love and pride, it can also lead to feelings of frustration, loneliness, and sadness.

For caregivers taking care of their parents, it can also feel like a role reversal where the parent is no longer caring for them, but they’re now doing the work to ensure mom or dad is OK. This can bring on feelings of loss and even anger.

Ignoring the symptoms accompanying these feelings and living with them for a prolonged period can lead to long-term stress and more dangerous health issues such as heart disease and diabetes.

This spiral of negative feelings and stress can impact your employee’s performance. And it’s not just one employee. It’s a phenomenon recognized by SHRM as important for employers to take seriously. For example, an AARP report found that 23% of employees say their health has worsened due to engaging in caregiving.

The first thing to recognize are the symptoms of stress.

It’s crucial the caregiver recognize these in themselves or someone else.

Symptoms  of caregiver stress can include:

• Feeling overwhelmed or constantly worried
• Feeling tired often
• Getting too much sleep or not enough sleep
• Gaining or losing weight
• Becoming easily irritated or angry
• Losing interest in activities you used to enjoy
• Feeling sad
• Having frequent headaches, bodily pain, or other physical problems

When recognizing the symptoms, there are strategies to help alleviate them and support the feeling and well-being of the caregiver. While asking for help isn’t what caregivers want to do, it is essential to benefit the caregiver and loved one.

Some of the strategies can be implemented through your HR department inexpensively. According to SHRM, HR departments can set support models to aid employee caregivers with time off, services provided, support groups, and more. 

If you know someone who is a caregiver, these strategies can help alleviate stress. 

• Get Connected. There are caregiving resources in the community that can help with services such as meal deliveries, minor home repairs, friendly visits and phone calls, and more.  Some even have classes specifically about the disease a loved one is facing. 
• Join a support group. Support groups offer empathy, friendship, and support for caregivers. They’re a place to take time out, meet, gather new ideas, and recharge.
• Seek social support. Trying to stay connected to friends and family allows the caregiver to converse about shared memories, keep up on events, and share a laugh.
• Set personal health goals. Simple but crucial actions supporting good health include walking, drinking plenty of water, and getting enough rest. In addition, caregivers can help alleviate negative symptoms. If someone you know is a caregiver, you can inquire about their well-being. 

Respite care for a loved one

Caregiving for many is a 24-hour job; for some, it’s on top of their daily work. They cook meals before work, provide showers, run errands, keep up on medications, get their loved ones to doctors appointments, and more.

Respite care provides short-term relief for primary caregivers. It is giving a break for them by providing care for their loved one a day or afternoon once or multiple times a week. Respite care can be provided in-home, in a healthcare facility, or adult daycare center.

Respite care lessens the burden on a caregiver by relieving stress, allowing them to restore their energy while promoting balance in life and mitigating exhaustion, isolation, and burnout.

Providing information on respite care in your area or directing your employees to resources to help them find it can be a corporate value—serving those who support you to better care for themselves.

You will find places in your community that provide respite care, and if you are unsure, you can reach out to elder care services, which will connect you with your community and make help available.

In-home Services to Reduce Hardship on Caregivers 

Two-thirds of U.S. adults and over three-quarters of those age 50+ want to stay in their homes as they age. These adults may be your parents or the parents of your work community.

The first thing caregivers have to do when faced with this choice by their loved ones is to figure out how they can help make this happen and still live their lives. It isn’t easy; remember, very few caregivers will complain, so you may not even know their situation.

Helping a loved one “age in place” can mean any number of things—stopping by their house before or after work, making meals daily or maybe on the weekend to last a week, managing medications, personal care and hygiene, and more.

These caregiving experiences accumulate and can show up over time as stress and ill health. Your attention to the plight of the caregivers in your company and life can allow you to fulfill a company mission, support your workers and colleagues, and grow your brand recognition. 

There is help in your community through in-home services. These non-profit organizations are committed to advocating for seniors living independently in their homes.

They provide services from meal delivery, well-being checks, minor home repairs, and friendly visits to pet care food assistance. Their services support caregivers so they are less burdened and their loved ones are safe and living where they want.

Aiding Caregivers and Your Company Outreach

Being busy running a company can take all the time you have available. So thinking about the caregiver employees in your company may seem like a big stretch.

Maybe you don’t have anyone to run your outreach program or know how to start getting involved. You could question whether your resources will be well spent if given to an organization. There are many questions.

Here are some answers. 

Aging happens to all of us: you, your loved ones, and the loved ones of your employees, customers, and vendors. We see aging all around us—from our movies to our neighborhoods, and we can see the effects of aging on us and the lives around us.

Over the next two decades, the “graying of America” will grow. By 2035, there will be more older adults than children. If you haven’t experienced this graying, you will. Seniors in your life, the lives of your employees, and in your community will need help.

As a business leader, you can make a difference in your community and business by supporting your employees with information and resources and through elder care corporate outreach, matching donations, and employee volunteer programs.

Wondering how to start? We know how and how to make it accessible through partnership programs and more.

 Contact us and get started today.