The ‘caregiving crisis’ and why employers should care.
Photo by claudio-schwarz-purzlbaum by Unsplash
The caregiving crisis will hit you. This is a fact. If you are not currently a parent or an unpaid caregiver, brace yourself, because it is coming. If you choose not to have children you will still be faced with caregiving of an aging parent, and if you are no longer caring for young children, you will come face-to-face with your adult child living with you and possibly raising their own young family in your home. The data is clear and it’s pretty alarming when you put it all together. Corporations cannot ignore the fact that by 2035 every employee will be affected by the necessity of caregiving at some point during their career. No coincidence that also by 2035, older people will outnumber younger people for the first time in history.
Historically in the U.S., having a child has been viewed as a private responsibility. Much like having a pet, having a child is seen as a lifestyle choice. If you don’t have the time or money to care for a pet (child), you shouldn’t have one*. Programs and policies in the U.S. clearly follow this mindset ~ the most oft cited fact is that the U.S. is one of only two countries on the planet without federally mandated maternity leave as well as being the least generous benefits-wise for parents/caregivers … not to mention we have the greatest time squeeze on family life than any other country. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Let’s just say you agree with the above statement that having a child is a lifestyle choice. So now replace that sentence as follows “If you don’t have the time or money to care for an aging parent, you shouldn’t have one.” Or this, “If you don’t have the time or money to care for a sick child, you shouldn’t have one”, “If you don’t have the time or money to care for a disabled family member, you shouldn’t have one” etc, etc, etc. Doesn’t quite seem as humane, does it?
So, for reasons I am about to lay out, caring for children and unpaid caregiving in general can no longer be a private responsibility. I’m not talking politics and major governmental intervention here (though a little might be nice — read Caitlyn Collins, Making Motherhood Work) but instead I am talking about responsibilities that companies have to the health and wellness of their employees as well as to the health and wellness of their own organizations as a whole (Companies take note: **You are losing 35 billion dollars a year due to losses associated with caregiving). Yes, you are already losing if you don’t address caregiving needs amongst your employees. It is essential that we have the conversation about caregiving and parenting at work. Yes, AT WORK. I said that. These conversations need to happen at work between employees and their employers.
Let’s look at some real data:
Over 60% of American Family Households are Dual-Income as compared to 25% in 1960 and this number is growing. (pew research)
70% of mothers in the labor force have children under 18 years of age as compared to 47% in 1975 (pew research)
1 out of every 6 employees provide some level of unpaid care for a family member or friend an average of 20 hrs a week ~ 25% are millennials, 40% are male. (AARP)
32% of 18–34 year olds live with their parents at home — *the most common living arrangement for this age group ever on record! (pew research)
For both moms and dads, more time is spent on childcare than ever before — 14 hours a week for mothers, 8 hrs a week for fathers. (pew research)
The cost of raising ONE child today from age birth to 17 is $233,610 (pew research)
Baby boomers (born 1945–1965) are living longer and outliving their savings and the burden is hitting young families (Sandwich generation — more on that in another article)
In 10 years, the unpaid family caregiver support ratio will be 4 potential caregivers to every person 80+ and this ratio will decline over the following 10 years.
For those that took a career break to care for children or family members, 93% want to return to work. And, given the economic anxiety that most families are facing in light of caregiving, chances are high that these individuals will need to return to work — in fact they are doing so at a staggering rate as compared to a couple decades ago
We are in the middle of a giant shift when it comes to parenting and caregiving and it is going to gravely affect the workplace on both sides of the equation (employee and employer) if structures, programs, policies, and cultures do not change. We are no longer living in a 1950’s era with 1950’s style workers. Duh, right? Yet, the vision of the ideal worker persists — a vision of a man devoted to work and available at a moment’s notice while their 1950’s wife is at home managing 100% of the care duties. (*This is based on a real study done by two sociologists and has been dubbed “the ideal worker syndrome” an image which we subconsciously have in our minds when trying to live up to expectations). It’s obvious and clear based on the data that we are no longer living in that kind of workplace and this ‘ideal worker’ does not exist. Yet the foundations for how we work, when we work, and why we work are all still very much embedded in the old ways of thinking.
So why have employers been so slow to change? Unlimited snack rooms, ping-pong tables, happy hours, yoga, and breast-feeding rooms are all really really ‘nice’ but they don’t do a damn thing towards moving the needle in alignment with the changing face of employees who, at some point in their career, will spend hours and hours each week caring for others outside of work.
Yes, it is complex. There is not just one thing that needs to change in order to support workers who provide care to others outside of work. An entire web of shifts need to happen concurrently. Shift in gender equality, shift in the culture around where work takes place, shift in time expectations and hours when meetings occur, shifts toward improving psychological safety at work and whole person communication, shifts away from hyper masculine leadership models, shifts in talent management and recruitment structures, and closer looks into non-linear career paths. These are but several examples of which there are many more. While it may sound daunting, it’s very doable over time with strong commitment from the top.
In 2019 and Beyond
Caregiving WILL affect almost every employee at some point in their job tenure ~ let’s not forget we are working longer and are NOT retiring at 55, or 65 like in the old days.
Unpaid caregivers who also work full-time is the new norm, not the exception.
The economic and time constraints due to caregiving will be more demanding than ever before.
So, as we look toward a future where employees and employers can thrive, opening up the dialogue around the challenges posed by caregiving responsibilities is ESSENTIAL to the health and well being of both individuals and companies.
*Folbre 1994,2008
Originally published by Kristi Rible on Medium at: https://kristi-rible.medium.com/the-caregiving-crisis-and-why-employers-should-care-d1a36c34fc77