5 million people juggle work whilst caring for a loved one.
Staggeringly, 5 million people in the UK juggle work whilst caring for a loved one. This means that 1 in 7 people in your workforce are not only thinking about conference calls, deadlines and customer service but also about whether their loved ones are washed, fed and safe.
In the last 2 years alone 500,000 people (600 a day) have given up work to care for loved ones, because the pressure of doing both is simply too much. As the population ages and the number of carers rise, the effects of carers leaving the workplace are only going to grow.
The peak age for caring is between 45–64, which is also the point at which people are peaking in their career. As your most loyal staff start to hold significant relationships, expertise and seniority, they are hit with additional responsibilities. This leaves them stressed, isolated and facing mental and physical ill health.
Supporting people who care for loved ones to remain in work might seem like the morally right thing to do, but it is also the economically sensible thing to do.
Ian Conn, the Group CEO of Centrica states that the direct cost of replacing an employee who cares for a loved one could be 100–150% of their salary.
When Centrica looked at the productivity gains for the company from supporting its carer employees they found they saved around £1.8m by preventing unplanned absences and presenteeism and a further £1.3 million per annum in retention savings.
Covid19 has shocked the world. We are all worried about whether we might catch Coronavirus at the supermarket, in shopping deliveries or from our next-door-neighbours. Sadly, people who care for loved ones need to worry that bit more.
Curo know first hand what it is like to care for a loved one whilst working, and our carers’ concierge service provides carers with expert guidance at their finger tips.
Carers can chat with doctors, mental health practitioners and financial and legal advisors and ask them questions such as “What does Power of Attorney mean to me?” or “Is the behaviour of my loved one something I should be concerned about or not?”.
Ultimately, our service empowers carers to engage fully whilst both working and caring. We help to reduce mental ill health, loneliness and burnout that carers face at the best of times, let alone amidst a global pandemic.
If you are interested in supporting your staff who care, please check out our website www.curocarers.com to learn more, or contact us on hello@curocarers.com to talk further.
