"The Sandwich Generation and Working Caregivers: How HR Can Guide Employees Caught in the Middle"

1. The Sandwich Generation
and Working Caregivers
How HR Can Guide Employees
Caught in the Middle

2. Agenda
 Introductions
 Define Sandwich Generation
 Understand Challenges
 Impact of Working Caregivers to Employers
 Impact to Individuals who are Family Caregivers
 Share Strategies to Support Employees who are Working Caregivers

3. Who is the ‘Sandwich Generation’?
 Middle aged adults who:
 Have a parent 65 or older
 Raising one or more children
 Financially supporting a grown child

4. Who is the sandwich generation?
4 in 10 provides emotional support to
both an aging parent and a grown child
The Sandwich Generation: Rising Financial Burdens for Middle-Aged Americans (Pew Research Center, January 2013)

5. Who is the sandwich generation?
1 in 7 provides financial support to
both an aging parent and a child
The Sandwich Generation: Rising Financial Burdens for Middle-Aged Americans (Pew Research Center, January 2013)

6. Contributing Factors to Being
‘Sandwiched’
 Longer life spans
 Living longer but not healthier
 Smaller families
 Low caregiver support ratio results in care gap
 Delay in marriage as well as child-bearing
 Results in likelihood to still have children in home as parents age
 Children living at home longer – during/after college years
 More women in the workplace

7. Meet Mary
One scenario of a Working Caregiver
Mary
Married, 3 kids
Works full time
Her mother is 79
years old;
diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s.
Work Stress
Arriving late and missing
more time at work due to
mom’s needs and
appointments. Unfocused
and making mistakes.
Manager and coworkers
have taken notice.
Health Decline
Less time results in eating
more processed/fast food.
Previous weight lost has
crept back. Sleep and
exercise has reduced
significantly.
Relationships
Less quality time with
husband. Child active
in sports. Married
daughter just had first
baby (first grandchild).
Mom moved in.
Caregiving Strain
Providing direct care to
mom. Starting to resent
mom’s increasing needs.
Neighbor can no longer help
in watching mom. Nearest
sibling lives 100 miles away.
Financial Stress
Helping with college
daughter’s tuition and
insurance. Need to find
a paid home care aide
for mom while she is at
work. Mom’s income is
limited to SS.

8. Demographics of Working Caregivers
6 in 10 family caregivers are employed
MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Costs (National Alliance for Caregiving and MetLife Mature Market Institute.
February 2010)

9. Demographics of
Employee Caregivers
17%
35%
48%
34% 33% 33%
18 - 39 YRS 40 - 49 YRS 50+ YRS
Caregiver and Non-Caregiver
Employees, by Age
Caregiver Non-Caregiver
The MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and
Employer Health Care Costs (National Alliance for
Caregiving and MetLife Mature Market Institute,
February 2010)

10. Demographics of
Caregivers
66% Female
34% Male
Gender of Caregivers
Female Male
Caregiving in the U.S. (National Alliance for
Caregiving in collaboration with AARP, November
2009)

11. Magnitude and Economics of
Caregiving
 65.7 Million Unpaid/Informal Caregivers
in the US
 29% of the total U.S. adult population care for someone ill, disabled, or aged
 Average of 20 hours per week spent on providing care to loved one
 13% spend 40 hours or more per week
 $450 Billion Annually
 Value of unpaid caregiver services
Caregiving in the United States (National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP, November 2009)
Valuing the Invaluable (The Economic Value of Family Caregiving; AARP Public Policy Institute, 2011 Update)

12. Financial Impact to Employers
 $25.2 billion
 Cost to U.S Economy
 Annually in lost productivity (average cost is $200 per day)
 126,222,624 workdays annually
 Total number of lost workdays among full time employees due to caregiving
(17%)
 $13.4 billion
 Due to 8% differential in increased healthcare costs between caregiving and
non-caregiving employees
Caregiving Costs U.S. Economy $25.2 Billion in Lost Productivity (Gallup Healthways Wellbeing Survey, July 2011)
The MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Care Costs (National Alliance for Caregiving and MetLife Mature
Market Institute, February 2010)

13. Financial Impact to Employees
$3 Trillion!!!
Total estimated aggregate lost wages, pension, and Social Security benefits of
caregivers of parents
Lost wages due to leaving workforce early because of caregiving responsibilities
 $142,693 (Lost Wages)
 $131,351 (Loss of Social Security
Benefits)
 $50,000 (Loss of Pension -
Conservative Estimate)
 $324,044 = Total Cost Impact of
Caregiving for Women
 $89,107 (Lost Wages)
 $144,609 (Loss of Social Security
Benefits)
 $50,000 (Loss of Pension -
Conservative Estimate)
 $283,716 = Total Cost Impact of
Caregiving for Men
Women Men
Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Costs: Double Jeopardy for Baby Boomers Caring for their Parents (MetLife Mature Market Group and
National Alliance for Caregiving, June 2010)

14. Financial Impact to Employees
 $5,531 Annually Out of Pocket
 Amount spent by the average family caregiver for someone 50 years or
older in 2007 (more than 10% of the median income for a family caregiver
that year)
 47%
 Percentage of working caregivers who have used up all or most of their
savings due to increased caregiving expenses
Valuing the invaluable (The Economic Value of Family Caregiving and AARP Public Policy Institute, 2011 Update)
Evercare Survey of the Economic Downturn and Its Impact on Family Caregiving (National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare,
March 2009)

15. When Work and Caregiving Collide
 Absenteeism
 Presenteeism
 Stress
 Distraction at Work
 Decline in health
 Retention issues
 Managing the workplace when
employees have to take time off
 Lost productivity
 Increased cost of healthcare
costs/benefits
Employees Employers

16. What resources,
benefits, and
suggestions can your
company offer to help
sandwiched employees
with caregiving
responsibilities?

17. Flexibility
Manager
Get creative on
options
Advocate for
employee
Encourage self-
care and respite
Company
Educational workshops
Promote benefits and
resources
Offer professional
contacts and support
Employee
Share needs
Offer suggestions
Create plan on
how work will get
done
Modify
Schedule
Tele
commute
Short
Term
Leave
Job Share

18. Helping Employees Find Balance
What I Can
Delegate
(tasks that can
cause stress)
What I Do
(focus on quality
time spent with
loved one)

19. Helping Employees Find Balance
For Tasks that can be delegated, identify:
Who?
Are the care
providers that can be
recommended; or
who in employee’s
personal network
can provide care &
services
-
What?
Type of care needed
(companion, food
prep, transportation,
nursing care)
When?
Is the best time for
employee and care
recipient
Where?
Location for care
(home, senior
center, adult day
care, assisted living)

20. Workplace Solutions - What can HR
Professionals Do?
Flexibility and Support for Employees
Provide flexibility in work hours (The most requested adjustment)
Flexible Leaves
Organize support for employees
In-house
caregiver
support groups
Brown-bag
lunch sessions –
presented by
internal staff or
external
professionals
Coordination
with local
community
groups/contacts
hospitals,
hospice, etc
Evaluate HR/Company policies to ensure flexibility
Identify and seek out the ‘sandwiched’ at your company

21. Workplace Solutions - What can HR
Professionals Do?
Linking Health and Wellness to Caregiving
Wellness Programs
Stress reduction seminars/services
On-site yoga,
exercise classes
and massage
therapy
Teach
relaxation
techniques and
meditation
Mediation
services for
caregiving
families in
conflict
A certain
number of
hours of free
legal and
financial
advice
Health coaching
services and/or
nursing hotline
access
Financial
incentives for
preventative
health
measures
Smoking and
alcohol
cessation (clear
link with
caregiving)
Online support
groups to
employees who
prefer them to
on-site groups

22. Integrated
Health and
Wellness for
Employee
Caregiver
Care
Support
Budgeting/
Financial
and Legal
Guidance
Relationship
Resources
Health
and
Stress
Manage
ment

23. Workplace Solutions - What can HR
Professionals Do?
Employer Paid Benefits
Paid time off
Paid Eldercare or Childcare Services
Group purchase of long term care insurance, or life insurance plans with
‘living benefits’ options
Cafeteria style dependent care coverage to partially reimburse costs for in-
home care or adult day care
Employee Assistance Programs

24. Workplace Solutions - What can HR
Professionals Do?
Educate and Train Employees
 Title VII
 Pregnancy Discrimination
 Age Discrimination
 American’s with Disabilities Act
 Genetic Information
Nondiscrimination Act
 Family Medical Leave Act
 Paid Family Leave
 State Disability Insurance Eligibility
 Leverage multiple communication
channels for to ensure employees
are aware of resources and
support available
 Provide training for employees
on Medicare, Medicaid,
Veterans Aid & Attendance
Programs, estate and financial
planning, etc.
 Provide information on helpful
sites, community services and
resources
 Publish key contacts, advice,
and resources in company
newsletter or intranet
Coaching for Supervisors
Education and Support for
Employees

25. Sandwiched
Employee
1. Meet
with
Employee
2.Carefully
and actively
listen to
employee
3. Show
concern and
empathy for
the
situation
4. Avoid
making
assumption
about the
situation or
solutions
5. Offer
support
with
company &
community
resources
6.
Consistently
keep open
lines of
communica-
tion
Manager Support

26. Workplace Solutions - What can HR
Professionals Do?
Other Ideas from AARP
 Adopt a model for preventing discrimination
 Make it part of policy and culture
 Evaluate based on performance not assumptions on commitment
 Consider hourly staff
 Revaluate policies related to no-fault absenteeism that terminate based on number of absences
or tardies regardless of the reason
 Implement recruitment practices for people with family caregiving responsibilities
 Those looking to enter or re-enter the workplace
 Offer caregiving support, resources, and referral services to employees (and resources
on ways to pay for them)
 Referral to caregiving, nanny, respite, transportation service in community
 Discounted back-up homecare, babysitting, or transportation needs for emergency needs
Protecting Family Caregivers from Employment Discrimination (AARP Public Policy Institute, August 2012)

27. What HR Professionals and Managers
SHOULD NOT Do!!
 Treat male caregivers more favorably than female caregivers (or vice
versa)
 Deny women with young children or aging parents an employment
opportunity that is available to men in the same situation
 Stereotype based on sex of working employees
 Reassign a women to less desirable projects based on the assumption that
as a new mother, she will be less committed to her job
 Reduce a female employee’s workload after she assumes full time
responsibility of her niece and nephew based on the assumption that as a
female caregiver, she will not want to work overtime
Examples of What Not to Do
DO NOT -

28. What HR Professionals and Managers
SHOULD NOT Do!!
 Make decisions subjectively
 Lower subjective evaluations of a female employee’s work performance
after she becomes the primary caregiver of her grandchildren, despite the
absence in actual work performance
 Denial of a promotion or based on stereotypes of how mothers/fathers
and children of aging parents should act
 Discriminate against working fathers
 Deny a male caregiver leave to care for parent on hospice under
circumstances where such leave would be granted to a female caregiver
Examples of What Not to Do
DO NOT -

29. What HR Professionals and Managers
SHOULD NOT Do!!
 Violate ADA Statues
 Stereotype based on association with an individual with a disability or
chronic illness
 Unlawfully refuse to modify duties
 Create a hostile work environment for caregivers
 Subject an employee to severe or pervasive harassment because
 He/she is a parent with young children
 She is pregnant or taking maternity leave
 He/she is caring for an aging or disabled family member
 His/her spouse has a disability
 RETALIATE!!!
Examples of What Not to Do
DO NOT -

30. Additional Resources
 Local Services
 San Diego Aging and Independent Services
 Southern Caregiver Resource Center
 Eldercare Resources San Diego
 Caregiver Coalition
 211 San Diego
 Network of Care
 Certified Senior Advisors
 Large network of professional contacts in San Diego
 Eldercare Calculator
 Allows employers to calculate their own costs

31. ReACT Coalition
Respect a Caregiver’s Time
 Have the Conversation
 Demonstrate Flexibility
 Embrace Caregiving as the New Normal
 Keep Caring for Caregivers
Four Steps for Supporting Employees with
Caregiving Responsibilities

32. Thank you!
Christine Davies, SPHR
Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)
Managing Director of
Casa Companion Homecare Solutions
www.casacompanionhomecare.com
christine@casacompanionhomecare.com