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01 Mar 2019

How can employers support carers in their workforce

Every employee has wellbeing needs. Mental and physical health affects us all—but some people have extra burdens that make dealing with the day-to-day stresses of the workplace much harder.

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Research from Carers UK states that 2.3 million adults have given up work to care at some point in their lives, with 3 million reducing their hours. 20 per cent of carers surveyed have taken less suitable jobs for their qualifications, or refused promotions outright. Clearly, caring for a loved one is an extremely difficult, time-consuming and sensitive task, and carers who make sweeping changes to their lives—and livelihoods—deserve praise.

But many, many more carers remain part of the workforce. Even with the additional stresses and concerns that care brings. As an employer, your duty of care to your people is one of your most important responsibilities—here are a few ways to support those among your staff with caring responsibilities.

Paid emergency leave
Carers can face incredible physical and emotional demands and stresses. One in five receive zero support with their responsibilities, a figure rising to one in three when caring for a disabled child.

Allowing flexibility with leave can ease a lot of pressure. You’re required by law to give a reasonable amount of time off for emergencies—though this doesn’t necessarily have to be paid. Actually giving paid emergency leave will ease a lot more pressure—when a carer knows they won’t lose out financially in times of need, they’ll be able to relax and concentrate on their work. 

Flexible working practices
Carers have a lot on their plate. A great way to make their life a little easier is to ensure that their tasks aren’t in the way—flexitime, allowing them to choose their hours (as long as their work is completed in a timely manner) can help. Even if this simply means moving their start and finish times forward by an hour, this can be the difference between rushing to prepare for the day, and being secure in the knowledge that their caring responsibilities are in hand.

Jobsharing and allowing remote working will give a carer more time to spend at home. Again, make sure that they have structures and support in place to allow them to complete their work in a timely manner.

You can even consider redeploying a carer into a less stressful role—the best way to approach this is with an open and friendly conversation about their needs.

Management support
Knowing that management is sympathetic will help your employees with caring responsibilities come forward with their issues. Management should have training in understanding these issues—simply knowing how to be supportive and empathetic when a carer first approaches can make the difference between them continuing work, or taking time off. 

Making management available at all times, by giving out personal out-of-office numbers, is a great way to show support—a carer’s work never ends, after all.

Open wellness culture
Promote and encourage openness around mental and physical wellbeing in your workplace. Not only will this help carers to speak up about any issues they may face and the help you can provide, it’ll create a more pleasant atmosphere for everyone in general. 

Provide resources and opportunities for healthiness—better snacks, educational literature and displays and social functions can help. Senior management openly sharing stories of their own difficulties is greatly encouraging—let people know that everyone suffers from the same issues. Level out the playing field of wellness.

Carers are a valuable asset. And with a rapidly ageing population, more and more people will need to take on a caring role along with their workload. Be prepared and open about your acceptance of this, and show a genuine desire to help—and you’ll be making a difference to a lot of lives.

This article is provided by Health Assured.

In partnership with Health Assured

Health Assured is the UK and Ireland's most trusted health and wellbeing network.

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