Care-givers need help in their jobs
As people are living longer, the demographic who care for family members is shifting.
The latest Bupa Wellbeing Index findings reveal that increasingly younger people are stepping into this role, juggling their caring responsibilities with building a career and a life, so we need to reframe how we think about support for carers, argues Bupa’s Dr Tim Woodman.
Medical advances, better access to healthcare and a greater understanding of the importance of exercise and nutrition are leading to a rise in multigenerational families.
While this is a positive for many families, those caught between caring for their aging parents, elderly grandparents, siblings and their own children are feeling new pressures. They face the challenges of trying to juggle healthcare responsibilities with busy modern-day lives.
The Bupa Wellbeing Index reveals that millennials – people aged between 25 and 44 – are increasingly stepping into the role of caring for multiple generations in their families.
Millennials also represent the age group most significantly affected by care-giving responsibilities in their daily lives, facing the mounting pressures of caring at a time when they are building careers and transitioning through important life stages: growing families, buying homes and building their pensions.
‘Missing Middle’
This Missing Middle demographic – consisting of 6.2 million millennials – has replaced the original ‘sandwich generation’, those aged between 45 and 59, who were previously identified as primary care-givers.
Across all ages, women (38%) are more likely to look after the family than men (30%). And over a third (34%) of women who take on the role of primary care-giver feel a sense of responsibility to take care of the family’s health, compared to a quarter of men (26%).
The research identifies a number of reasons why people take on the role of caring for their family’s health.
Nearly one in five (18%) of those who become the primary care-giver say everyone else assumes they will, while almost as many (15%) say they had to step into the role because no one else in the family would take it on.
Over one in five (21%) millennials (25-44) who become the primary care-giver point to having the closest relationship to family members in need as a reason for looking after them. And overall, a greater proportion of women (26%) than men (19%) cite this as a reason.
Types of caring support
When we think about carers, we often think about full-time caring responsibilities.
However, sometimes the most common acts of care are the smaller ones, such as regular phone calls with relatives (31%) or helping with tasks at home, such as cleaning, cooking, gardening (24%) or supporting them with regular chores such as food shopping (16%) and leisure activities (18%).
No matter how small the task may seem, every activity in caring for a family member takes time out of a person’s day when they have their own competing pressures to manage as well.
Additionally, 21% of respondents are responsible for supporting a family member with their mental health.
Overall, just 16% feel well-equipped to support family members who are struggling with their mental health. Those aged 25-34 are most confident in this regard (22%), with those over 55 least able to help (12%).
Impact on health and well-being
Our research shows that the UK is a nation of carers – 83% of those surveyed said that the health and well-being of the family is their greatest priority, 81% said over and above their own health and well-being, 48% said over their career and 68% said over their relationship with a spouse/partner.
However, this responsibility isn’t without its toll on the carer. 35% of those surveyed said they had lost sleep due to anxiety or stress about a family member’s health, and this was highest among older millennials, those aged 35 to 44 (44%).
Overall, one in seven (14%) survey respondents say that looking after their family has had a negative impact on their mental health, with millennials (19%) most likely to report mental health issues from their caregiving activities.
The weight of expectations on individuals may be a factor, with 35% feeling that they are expected to look after their family without concern for their own mental health and well-being.
This is highest among millennials (47%), who are also most likely to say they are struggling with their own mental health but have not told their family members (22%).
Worryingly, one in fourteen (7%) respondents report missing two of their own health appointments in the past year to look after a family member. Additionally, a significant number of respondents put off or delayed booking GP appointments.
Impact on personal and social lives
Millennials, in particular, report suffering with care-giving burnout, as nearly three-quarters (68%) say that looking after their family has impacted their daily life.
For example, 42% experienced loss of sleep worrying, 61% have missed out on social or leisure activities and 59% have missed out on social events with friends.
Half (50%) of millennials also say they have missed big events or life milestones, such as weddings, birthdays or holidays with friends, to look after their family members’ health. Despite this impact on their personal and social lives, many people view their responsibilities as positive.
One respondent said: ‘Caring for multiple generations has been hard, as I am a single mum, but I also do as much as possible to help my elderly grandparents. Splitting time to help both generations is hard but equally rewarding when I can make a difference.’
Impact on working life
Millennials are the backbone of the workplace and a crucial generation for the economy. But the anxiety and stress of caring for the family’s health can have a significant effect on a person’s work-life and career.
Our research shows that a large proportion of people report that their work-life balance has been impacted by taking on responsibility for multigenerational health and wellness. Over half (51%) say that these responsibilities have impacted their working life at some stage.
Family care-givers also report missing days at work. In the past year alone, respondents have had to take an average of two days annual leave to fulfil these responsibilities, rising to almost three days in the case of 16-34 year-olds.
Some people have also had to call in sick to fulfil their caring responsibilities, with an average of two sick days taken across all age groups.
When it comes to career progression, 27% of respondents think this may have stunted their development, with more men (28%) than women (25%) believing this to be the case.
The figure is high for millennials (43%) at a time when many are looking to build prosperous careers for the future and save for retirement (30% of 44-54 year-olds and 14% of those aged over 55).
While some are finding that multigenerational health responsibilities are slowing their career progression, others are having to stop indefinitely.
One respondent commented: ‘I had to leave my job to look after my mother who has been diagnosed with a brain tumour. She needs constant supervision. My daughter suffers from anxiety and paranoia. It’s an effort to support both at the same time.
‘My relationship with my partner and social life are suffering badly. I’m just so tired.’
Any loss of talent, whether that is through sick days or losing staff permanently, has a direct impact on an organisation’s ability to grow. At Bupa, we are seeing increasing demand for family health support from employers to support those with multigenerational health responsibilities.
Impact on life at work
Caring responsibilities are also impacting life in the workplace, with one in seven (14%) care-givers finding it hard to concentrate at work due to the worry of family health.
More women (16%) report this to be a problem than men (12%), while nearly one in five (18%) millennials are struggling to focus at work.
Missing out also extends to work social events, which can be key to forging good relationships with colleagues and enjoying the world of work. One in seven (14%) say they have had to miss out on work socials to care for their family, which rises to 20% for millennials.
Supporting multigenerational care-givers
Three in five of those surveyed (68%) would welcome more support when it comes to managing their care-giving responsibilities and maintaining their own wellbeing.
Overall, 58% of those employed say that having access to private healthcare for them and their family would improve their ability to do their current job.
Online health and well-being guidance is valued more highly by millennials (28%) than those aged 45-54 (20%) and 55+ (11%). When considering the benefits they would most value in looking for a new job, schemes that support care-givers in multigenerational families score highly.
Almost a third (31%) are looking for flexible working arrangements, which may help them to better balance their work-life and caring responsibilities.
Private healthcare (20%) and private medical insurance (20%) are also important factors for people when looking for a new job.
Conclusion
The findings of this report show that the Missing Middle, those caught between caring for their aging parents, grandparents, siblings and their own children, are feeling new pressures as they miss out on more than ever before.
Millennials are increasingly stepping into this role as they age and they are feeling the impact in their daily lives, missing out on career opportunities, social activities and healthcare at a critical point in their lives.
Care-givers are spending hundreds of hours each year looking after their family’s emotional and physical needs.
While they often report that they do this because they feel responsible for these duties, they also feel that other family members should be doing more to help and that increased support from employers in the workplace would enable them to perform better in their daily work and careers.
This is important for both individuals and employers, with many care-givers reporting that they have missed out on chances for advancement and been forced to take sick days or holiday to care for family members.
As clinicians and employers, we should be cognisant that younger people are increasingly taking on this responsibility and of the impact it can have on their lives, health and well-being.
We need to make sure that this vital demographic is properly supported, whether that’s in our roles by offering remote and digital options, where clinically appropriate, to make our services more accessible or as employers offering flexible working arrangements and access to support for physical and mental health problems.
This will enable us to give the Missing Middle the support they need to fulfil their potential in the workplace and wider society.
Dr Tim Woodman (right) is medical director for policy and cancer services at Bupa UK Insurance
