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When you are a family caregiver, balancing multiple and sometimes competing responsibilities can be challenging. That’s especially true if you are also in the paid workforce while trying to manage the increasing day-to-day needs of your loved one. Going into work every day and leaving them behind can be a tough challenge, especially if their health is on a slow downward trajectory. Remote or hybrid work is a great answer, but how feasible is it?
During the pandemic, remote work became the norm rather than the exception. And that went very well for some caregivers, who finally had an opportunity to do their paid work while still being at home to watch over their loved one. For some, it was a sudden stroke of good fortune even in the midst of a pandemic that had everyone worried, sick, and on lockdown.
Since then, some remote work has stayed the norm as employers realize that their employees were just as productive – if not more so – when they had the ability to work from home. And in fact, remote work still makes life easier for caregivers. Even those who have now moved to a hybrid model of going into the workplace a few times a week often find that they have enough flexibility to spend the time they need with their loved one while still getting their salaried job done.
But unfortunately, some employers are now demanding that their employees come back to the office full-time. And that can equate to some very difficult choices for family caregivers.
Caregiving is Often Overlooked
Over 53 million Americans are taking care of an elderly or disabled relative, according to AARP.1 And amazingly, most of them are left out of the discussion about going back to the office.
As the Kaiser Family Foundation reports, the usual questions about remote work versus office work center on three points: commuting to work, the convenience of working from home, and the effects the choice has on child care. But few bring up the advantages that remote work can offer those who are caring for elderly family members.
And that says a great deal about what is valued most in society and what is all too often swept under the rug. While employers understand and embrace the need to take off work when bringing a new child into the household or even the convenience of working from home after major surgery or serious illness, caregivers for seniors and the elderly are often an invisible group.
The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers reports that more than one of every five U.S. workers are also family caregivers. And nearly a third of those have quit a job, while others have cut back on their working hours, to care for a loved one.2 That translates into billions of dollars lost every year in potential income, as well as a higher burden on social safety nets, such as SNAP benefits.
A Serious Caregiving Problem
In addition to working full time paid positions, many caregivers are also working about 20 hours a week for their loved ones – that’s a total of at least 60 hours of work that they are providing, which leaves little time for themselves. And having no time to take care of their own needs can quickly lead to burnout, which affects not only their home lives, but their work lives as well.
Burnout can lead to a wide variety of problems, and not just emotional ones. According to the Cleveland Clinic, those in the midst of burnout can suffer from apathy and dissatisfaction, serious fatigue, headaches, and changes to sleep patterns and diet.3 All of these things represent a big hit to the immune system and overall health, which means caregivers might wind up sick more often, which of course means missed work days. Therefore, addressing the problems that caregivers face should be an immediate concern for any employer who wants to ensure their workforce is in productive shape.
But unfortunately, support for caregivers is often overlooked by employers. Employers might be dismissive of a person’s need to be in two places at once. An alert for elderly adults is certainly helpful when caregivers are away from their loved ones, but for some, it may not go quite far enough. That puts the caregiver in a difficult position, especially if their employer is immovable about hybrid or remote work.
Talking to Your Employer About Remote Work
Flexibility in the workplace matters, but sometimes employers don’t acknowledge the needs of their employees. And that attitude trickles down from up above.
For instance, while the federal government has talked often about workplace flexibility for caregivers, there is no national long-term care policy or paid family leave for caregivers. Though the government has released information on how to support family caregivers in the hopes of giving employers a push in the right direction, there is no official policy in place. Caregivers must advocate for themselves in the balancing act of paid employment versus caregiving.
Some positions simply don’t allow for remote work. These include positions that have an element of physical labor or hands-on requirements. For those individuals, difficult choices must be made concerning caregiving, especially if they need to be present full-time and don’t make enough money to cover the cost of full-time professional caregivers.
But for many others, there is some form of remote work solution. Here are some ways to approach your employer with this idea.
· Come prepared. Do your research into the company you work for, their stance on remote or hybrid work, and the benefits they offer (or don’t offer) as compared to other companies. If you have worked remotely before, be ready with hard facts about productivity and how well it went. Look into the ways that hybrid work can benefit employers and bring that information to help you make your case.
· Point out the value of remote work. This works especially well if you have been working remotely since the pandemic began and you have proven your production continues to stay the same or even go up. It can be quite difficult for an employer to argue that they need you back in the office when you can actually prove that they don’t.
· Be honest about your situation. Though it can be tough to talk about what’s happening at home, it is important to be as open as possible so that your employer can make an informed decision on how to help you. If you work for a very large company, you might not have the luxury of someone who is actually listening to you and can effect change. But if you work for a smaller employer, being honest about your struggles can work wonders.
· Suggest a trial run. If you haven’t worked remotely before or you want to try out a hybrid model, ask your employer to meet you halfway. The trial run will allow them to gauge your productivity and see the hard numbers – is it working for both of you? The trial run should span at least a few months to get a good idea of where your productivity lies and the strong benefits the employer will realize when they allow you to work remotely.
· Point out the benefits given for childcare. If your employer provides benefits for child care, point out that the caregiving for an elderly adult can be just as much responsibility. The high cost of adult day care and home health care can be enough to prompt individuals to leave their jobs and stay home to take care of their loved ones themselves. (The same is true of those who have young children, as often the costs of daycare make it more financially feasible to stay at home with the kids.) Is it possible that your employer could provide the same benefits for those who have a senior parent to care for?
· Show that you are doing what you can. Point out that you are doing all you can right now to make sure your loved one is safe while you are at work. From making sure they wear an in-home or mobile medical alarm at all times to regular check-in calls or video chats to providing home modifications that help them live as independently as possible, you can show your employer that you are exhausting all efforts.
While it is important to go into this discussion with a positive outlook, it’s also important to recognize that a “no” might be the only answer on the table. And in that case, it’s time to do what’s best for you and your situation. That might mean staying in the position for now while actively looking for another employer who will allow you to take on remote work. It might mean leaving the position while you figure out your next steps. It might even mean switching jobs or careers, or looking into other options for your loved one, such as the possibility of assisted living or paid in-home care.
In the meantime, make sure that a button alert with GPS and fall detection is your loved one’s constant companion, whether you are at work or at home with them. Even if you have to be in the office, the emergency monitoring center can contact you if your loved one ever presses the button for help, and you can rush to their side right away. Alert1 supports caregivers and their loved ones through every stage of the caregiving journey.
