How to support unseen caregiver employees
At Yurtle one of the most common refrains we hear from employers is that they don’t see caring as a big issue, or don’t know of many carers in their workforce.
Some even voice doubts about the robust data from Carers UK and ONS that demonstrates that 1 in 4 UK employees has caring responsibilities.
So it was of no surprise to us when BUPA published research that indicated that carers take on average two days of sick leave per year in order to care, in addition to two days of annual leave.
Carers euphemize care-related absence, but why? The picture is complex and deeply human.
Carers often don’t identify as such
How can an employer know about carers in their workforce if they don’t realise this about themselves?
Carers UK notes that it takes people on average two years to identify that they are carers.
This can be due to societal and cultural norms – considered to fall within daughter or husband duties – or because the responsibilities gradually increase over time, such as with progressive ageing or dementia.
Perceived stigma around caring
Carers and parents fear that employers will make assumptions about their performance, attendance and commitment if they have other responsibilities.
This is confounded by a lack of visibility of other carers, including senior role models.
Even in 2024 caregivers speak about feeling that leadership perceives them as weak compared to peers who do not share their caring identity.
More complicated are carers internalised fears and reluctance about the role, how it can be isolating and also be a growing or fluctuating commitment that can lead to denial until a crisis point is reached.
Financial pressures and the lack of take-up of carers leave
Many carers have to work less hours in order to balance their responsibilities, have costs incurred by caring (paid carers, equipment, travel, therapies and medicines), having an additional dependent in their home (in the case of elderly parents moving in with them) or intermingled finances of two households.
This is why Carers UK found 63% of carers are extremely worried about managing monthly costs.
So is it any wonder we haven’t seen the enthusiastic take-up of carers leave that we were ready to facilitate when it came into effect in April of this year?
In the middle of a cost of living crisis, the fact that most employers only offer the statutory five days of unpaid carers leave means that some carers would rather take paid sick leave if need be than further increase their financial hardship by reducing their earnings.
What can employers do to encourage openness around caring?
Increase awareness
Repost the fantastic content Carers UK and Carers Trust put out to promote visibility and understanding of carers. This will help carers feel seen, and their managers feel connected with the cause and able to understand.
Encourage peer networking of carers within your workforce, and if anyone in a leadership position provides care, consider sharing with colleagues about it.
Have a policy in place
Having a Carers Policy can help with carer identification, as well as clarify what support is available, and encourage carers to come forward.
In that stage where carers are weighing up their concerns about being stigmatised with the benefits of coming forward, having stated benefits and support helps them make that transition to being visible.
For many, bringing their whole self to work can be an empowering step, and offers relief from maintaining an impervious veneer.
Seriously consider paid carers leave
Given that the average carer takes two days of sick leave in order to care, and that for many carers presenteeism when distracted and unfocussed can be heightened, you are probably already paying for some absence and unproductivity anyway.
Almost all employers who offer paid carers leave are doing so on the basis of trust (ie not requiring proof of caring) and aren’t seeing any abuse of their generosity.
In partnership with Yurtle
Yurtle is an insurance-based employee wellness benefit helping companies to combat caregiver burnout (and the associated productivity and employee turnover losses) in the workplace.
