Employers: make work of informal care in the workplace
Do you want to:
Healthy, energetic and loyal employees?
Better work performance and higher productivity?
Less absenteeism, lower costs and less downtime?
An attractive employer profile in a tight labor market?
Watch the video Work and informal care or take a look at the website Work/Mental Care
Why paying attention to informal care is important
One in four workers combines work with informal care for a loved one. In the care sector it is even one in three. Because of the aging population, the policy of allowing older people to live longer at home and the growing staff shortage, this number will continue to increase. Sooner or later, almost every organization will have to deal with working informal caregivers.
Many employees do not recognize themselves as caregivers. They take it for granted to care for a family member or acquaintance and therefore do not talk about it easily. Yet combining work and informal care can be tough. Increasingly, employees are becoming unbalanced, with the risk of overwork, illness or even dropout. One in four informal caregivers is considering working less.
The role of the employer
As an employer, you can do a lot for family caregivers in your organization. By attention, understanding, flexibility and appropriate support offer, you create a win-win situation:
Employees stay healthy, vital and engaged
Improve work performance
Reduced absenteeism and lower absenteeism costs
Your organization becomes more attractive to (new) employees in a tight labor market
Make informal care negotiable and support your employees, thus investing in sustainable employability and being an attractive employer.
As an employer, what can you turn to us for?
Employers can contact us with questions about recognizing and discussing informal care in the workplace, preventing overburdening and downtime, and providing appropriate support or flexibility. We think along in a way that suits your organization, provide insight into what informal caregivers need, help raise awareness and, where necessary, refer to appropriate information, training courses or networks. Even if everything is not yet concrete, in an exploratory meeting together we look at what could be helpful.
As an employer, what can you already do yourself?
You can make an immediate difference by making informal care negotiable, recognizing signs of overload, allowing for flexibility and paying attention to work-life balance. Small steps can mean a lot.
Do you have questions or want to spar about what is possible within your organization? Feel free to contact with us.
