53 million US adults care for a spouse, elderly parent, relative, or special-needs child. Over 32 million of them also have a job.

Why Is This A Problem?

For those workers, life is a very busy balancing act. In addition to their job responsibilities and maintaining relationships at work, these family caregivers also care for a loved one, often in their own home. That care can include assistance with daily living activities, medical or nursing tasks, coordinating services and support, transportation, shopping, and serving as an advocate.

THERE’S NOT ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY to work a full time job and serve as a full-time family caregiver. Sacrifices must be made and the job might suffer. That is, unless the employer provides effective support for their employee family caregivers.

AND TIME IS MONEY, so the support needs to be more than just flexible scheduling and unpaid leave. Empathetic employers provide paid leave and other tangible support for family caregivers. Most offer some sort of paid leave and support for new parents. Why not proivide the same for employees who are caring for a parent, a spouse, another relative, or a friend?

It’s Going To Get Bigger…

The US Census Bureau expects the population of 65-plus adults to surpass children by 2030. It could be that more adults will be caring for adults than caring for children.

Health care facilities send recovering people home as soon as possible, leaving them in the hands of family caregivers, who may not have anticipated their new roles.

Professional caregivers, whether in-home or out, are an underpaid, dwindling workforce. Without major changes in that market, we can expect the care older adults need will be provided for free, by family.

How This Problem Affects All Of Us

Family caregivers often make the biggest sacrifices during the highest-earning years of their professional careers. Unpaid time off form work to care for parents or others is amplified lost earnings. This can also decrease their social security earnings upon retirement. Simply put, family caregving can dampen retirement savings.

Family caregivers are disproportionately women, especially women of color. Just as there is a motherhood penalty that interrupts the career trajectory of younger women, there is a family caregiving penalty that pushes women off the career advancement track. Family caregiving reduces diversity in the upper levels of the workorce.

Finally, this problem affects all of us because it will likely ACTUALLY affect us. The chances of becoming at least a partial family caregiver are high.