Growing number of unpaid carers will need wellbeing support, says KareHero’s Stephanie Leung

Focus on prevention, not crisis management when it comes to the mental, physical and financial wellbeing of carers

The future of work is linked to the future of care and healthcare, and employers must take account of how their workforce will manage their health and caring responsibilities outside work, according to Stephanie Leung, co-founder and CEO of KareHero.

Speaking at the Rethinking benefits to attract, retain and engage as age demographics shift REBA webinar on 20 March 2024, Leung said that of the 11 million people aged over 50 in the UK workforce, three million are unpaid carers with responsibilities for an adult living with them. “Every year, 12,000 people leave the workforce due to caregiver burnout,” she added.

Preventing a crisis

Leung said employers need to spot wellbeing issues before they got to crisis point, because of the potential knock-on effect of caring on mental and physical wellbeing. “If you have a parent with dementia, because they can get violent, for example, when is the right time to get professional help with funding?”

“Employees can enter what we call a high-stress mental deterioration and then need to go off long-term sick. You want to try and prevent that,” she added.

Caring is often complex for employees – understanding funding, getting care assessments – and employers will need to help their workforce simplify the experience and offer benefits that help.

“I think what employees are looking for now are more practical solutions rather than just signposting,” Leung added.