Stress, Burnout and More: The Workplace Cost of Caregiving

Dubbed “the sandwich generation,” Generation X (individuals born between 1965 and 1980) are facing a unique landscape due to their simultaneous caregiving responsibilities for both younger dependents (including minor or young adult children) and older dependents (such as parents, in-laws, grandparents or spouses).

Caregiving duties can extend these workers’ workdays and workweeks. Almost 25% of Gen X workers told career website Zety in a recent survey they are spending more than 16 hours — sometimes even more than 30 hours — on caregiving tasks. Similar research from online caregiving marketplace Care.com showed an average of 24 caregiving hours a week are spent by sandwich generation caregivers taking care of others.

“That’s overload to the max,” said Jasmine Escalera, a career expert at Zety. “Stress and burnout are not localized. They’re pervasive. They go everywhere. When you think about work, external stress and burnout are not left at the door. They’re brought into your career.”

Access bonus Workspan Daily Plus+ articles on this subject:

• How Caregiving Duties Can Affect Retirement Plans for Gen X Workers
• Caregiving Lessons for the Next Generation of Workers
• Eldercare Concierge Services: An Impactful Benefit Employees Need Now

Caregiving Ramifications

The Zety survey found caregiving duties can cause stress and burnout at work for more than half of Gen X caregivers, and 44% of respondents said their focus and productivity have suffered. Other workplace challenges included workday interruptions, work project timelines and relationships with coworkers.

Almost 1 in 5 are navigating the caregiver role on their own, according to Zety’s research, and close to one-third are receiving little to no support from their employers to help them manage these responsibilities. Meanwhile, 96% of sandwich generation caregivers surveyed by Care.com said they wished the American care system better supported dual-caregiving families.

These caregivers place lower priority on several other areas of their life, Care.com found, such as social interactions, sleep, mental health, hobbies and personal interests, their own medical appointments, and work and career responsibilities. The report also found 4 in 5 caregivers felt mentally overloaded and needed a break but didn’t know how to take one.

“This isn’t someone having ‘a lot going on,’” said Jill McNamara, the vice president of strategic growth at Care.com. “It’s a sustained load — financial, logistical, emotional — hitting people who are supposed to be at the top of their game. That mismatch is where a lot of the burnout comes from.”

Expanding and Promoting Benefits

Both Escalera and McNamara said there are several opportunities for employers to offer support for caregivers. These offerings may include:

• Specialists and concierge services
• Mental health benefits
• Paid time off
• Broad family and caregiving leave policies
• Flexible work schedules
• Childcare
• Financial planning resources
• Employee assistance programs and other well-being programs

In many cases, employers already are offering some of these benefits, but they may just need to communicate them to their workers better. That also means training managers on available benefits to help increase awareness, McNamara noted.

“An employer that says, ‘Whatever is happening in your life matters first,’ sends a great message across the board for your culture in terms of how your employees will be able to use support, ask for help and show up in the workplace in a different capacity,” Escalera said.

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

• Employee Benefits
• Employee Experience
• Well-Being