Invisible Workplace Stressors
Caregiving – An Invisible Workplace Stressor
What would you do if you found out that a sizable portion of your workforce is so stressed, day after day, that they could barely function?
First, you’d probably want to know why and what you could change in your business to fix it. That’s admirable. But, inaccurate. The stressors are not originating in the workplace. There’re spilling over from outside.
Childcare
Of the one-third of the workforce with children under 18, 41% admit that it severely hampers their job performance.
Although most companies acknowledge the childcare problems facing a significant portion of their workforce, a recent report revealed that access to childcare is not a top concern for most business owners, even as they recognize that it is hurting their business.
Eldercare
Then there is the segment of your workers dealing with eldercare issues. A full one in five U.S. workers are also caregivers for parents, in-laws, spouses, partners, and siblings. As explained in a May 29, 2024 MarketWatch article, “In the 2023 Employee Benefit Research Institute Workplace Wellness Survey, 58% of U.S. workers said they struggle to keep a good balance between work and caregiving responsibilities. Caregiving can be so time-consuming, a 2022 Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers report noted, that it’s often like having a demanding part-time job in addition to a paying job.”
Presenteeism
Employment analysts say that employees who are preoccupied with caregiver responsibilities are often at work but are unable to be fully engaged.
In the Harvard Business School’s Project on Managing the Future of Work survey of caregiving employees in the U.S., a quarter of those over 55 said caregiving affected their ability to perform their best at work all or most of the time. About one in five said caregiving responsibilities had caused them to leave a job.
Mothers as Breadwinner
As reported in the Status of Women Work and Family report, “The large majority of mothers are in the workforce, including 62 percent of mothers who gave birth within the last 12 months (U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau 2015). One in three workers (32 percent) have children under 18, and of these, a quarter have children younger than 6 years old (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2014). Of the 33.4 million households with children under 18, 22.3 million are headed by married couples, 8.4 million by single mothers, and 2.7 million by single fathers (Figure 3.4). Married fathers also spend more time on child care than previously. Both mothers and fathers need accommodations at work, such as schedule flexibility.”
The U.S. Surgeon General recently issued an advisory intended to bring attention to “parental stress, mental health, and well-being.”
As reported in Inc., “Those stressors include financial woes, social media risks, loneliness, and more, which -- according to the advisory -- can impact mental health and well-being, which can then have ‘far-reaching and profound implications for children, families as a whole, and for society.’
By releasing an advisory on this topic, the surgeon general has identified parental stress as an ‘urgent public health issue’" that requires ‘the nation's immediate awareness and action.’ But the advisory also includes recommendations for mitigating the issue, including three for employers, specifically.”
What Can You Do?
It is critical to expand policies and programs that support workers with caregiving responsibilities. These policies encompass paid leave, flexible work schedules, and possible subsidies for the services.
Training managers on stress management should be a priority. Work-life harmony is essential for worker happiness, and managers must be made aware of the warning signs of stress and address them immediately.
Again, as advised by the Surgeon General, “…employers (should) provide their employees with ‘access to comprehensive and affordable high-quality mental health care’ through their health insurance plans and offerings like counseling services. “
How Can ASN Help?
Our professionals are well-versed in workplace issues, benefits, and the most recent programs available to assist our clients in addressing these issues. If you would like to discuss how we can help you reduce your workplace stress, we would love to talk. Just give us a call.