Providing care for older family members has become a way of life for thousands of New Zealanders.

According to Census 2006, over 80% of the countries 400,000+ family carers balance their role with paid employment. Many are supporting older family members.

In countries such as the United States, employers are already feeling the impact of our ageing society.

Employers report growing concerns about care-related staffing problems and expect these to increase over the next decade.

A major study undertaken several years ago by the National Alliance of Caregiving and AARP estimated that business clock up US$29 billion in productivity losses due to caring each year, or about US$1,142.50 per caring employee per annum.

Carers often make long telephone calls related to caring during work hours, for example. The study also found that working caregivers have more stress-related illnesses and time off work than other staff members.

Employees who find the competing demands of work and caregiving to be too much often have to leave their jobs. They face a serious financial and emotional toll.

According to the study, over a lifetime the average carer loses almost US $700,000 in ‘wage wealth', mostly in lost wages and pension benefits.

Carers who enjoy their jobs and who are friends with their co-workers may also become depressed and lonely after leaving employment.

What Can Employers Do?

Develop an in-house support program for carers, and provide them with information and support in the workplace.

This has been found to reduce carer stress and can help to keep skilled workers in employment for longer.

Respect your employees' rights.

Know your legislative responsibilities as an employer.

Offer solutions such as flexible work hours, telecommuting, or job sharing.

Human Resource Departments

HR managers routinely deal with employees' personal issues.

They handle concerns such as drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, absenteeism, and financial matters.

Yet most do not provide specific support for carers of elderly or disabled family members.

Employees may talk to HR managers about other problems, but after a closer look these may be related to caring.

Is your organisation's HR department able to help employees who have caring concerns?

Here are some easy ways to support family carers in your workplace:

Assess employee needs

How many workers are carers? Screen workers for caring issues when they are referred or self-refer to HR.

Caring often becomes such a routine part of the employee's life that they do not see it as a concern.

Identify someone within the HR team to specialise in caring issues

They should be aware of useful sources of information, advice and support for carers, and have responsibility for organising regular awareness raising events in the workplace for carers, coordination of occasional support meetings, etc.

Develop a carer support campaign and promote it to workers

Let employees know you are aware of the realities of caring and want to provide support.

Provide follow-up

Avoid ‘one shot' information programs. Know your carers and conduct routine follow-up evaluations throughout the caregiving period and beyond.

Ideas for small business and offices

If you do not have a formal HR department, talk to your workers about caregiving. Keep the focus on communication.

Offer tips for setting limits and boundaries that can help carers gain control over their situation.

Your involvement may give carers the impetus they need to be more vocal with family members about the conflicts they feel between work and caring.

For instance, a carer might find it useful to tell the person they support, "My employer said that I can only make one personal phone call in the morning and one in the afternoon. I'll call you when I get a break."

Or he or she might say to a sibling, "You'll have to take Mum to her appointments part of the time, because I cannot be gone from the office so much."

Hidden Helpers

Providing care for another adult is a second job for many.

A survey conducted for the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP found that almost six in 10 (59%) of all carers either work or have worked while providing care.

Over 60% have had to make some adjustments to their work life, from reporting late to work or giving up work altogether.

And it's not just women, as some might think. Almost four in 10 (39%) carers are men, and 60% of them are working full-time.

Support provided to family members who responded to the survey included tasks such as financial management, shopping, housework, and physical caring such as lifting and transferring, dressing, assisting in the toilet, showering or bathing, and preparing meals.

Two thirds of carers expressed a need for help or information with at least one of 14 activities or issues typically faced by carers.

The study found that three in 10 carers carry the heaviest load.

They provide the most hours of care fulfil the most demanding responsibilities, and are the most affected by their role.

This group is more likely to report physical strain, emotional stress, and financial hardship as a result of their caring commitments compared to those who provide fewer hours of care, and perform less demanding tasks.

Carers who provide the most intense levels of care may find their responsibilities complicated by the fact that they tend to be older and more likely to say their health is only fair compared to other carers.

Women are more likely to be providing care at the highest levels compared to men.

Nearly eight in 10 people who receive care from family members are age 50 or older (79%), the survey found; their main health issues are heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's or other mental confusion.

The main issues for younger people who require support (ages 18 to 49) are mental illness and depression.

The average length of caring for those who completed the survey was 4.3 years, but three in 10 survey respondents had provided care for more than five years.

AARP says many working carers are unaware that co-workers are dealing with similar issues.