There comes a time when those who cared for us, are now the ones needing care. It’s a part of life. We grow, we age, we need work, and we care for our loved ones. Times like this are so demanding and while we cannot control the circumstances, we can work to take care of ourselves. A report from the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP found that family caregiving rose to 21% from 2015 to 2020 and caregivers provided around 23 hours of care per week. Caregiving is such a wonderful thing to provide for your loved ones, but if not well balanced it can lead to serious disruptions in your life. The impact can be immense when not balancing work life and caregiving well. The report listed above found that:
- 53% of caregivers were late for work, left early, or took time off to provide care
- 15% reduced their work hours
- 14% took a leave of absence
- 8% received reprimands for performance or attendance
- 4% lost their workplace benefits
Having shared the responsibility of caregiving with my mom when my dad had cancer and now caring for my grandmother, I compiled a list of tips that I found the most helpful while maintaining the caregiving and work-life balance.
1. Be Honest with Your Employer
It is so important to be upfront and honest when taking on this responsibility. Open communication is the first key to being able to balance your professional and personal life. Human resources are a great place to get started to find out how your employer supports employees in your circumstance. They will be able to let you know what the company policies are and how to handle using the Family and Medical Leave Act. It is important to come prepared to the meeting by providing resources and having an idea of what would help you in this circumstance. Here are some additional tips for how to talk to your supervisor or HR.
2. Keep Work Separate
For some caregivers work provides a reprieve from the duty of caregiving. It can provide a sense of normalcy and control as you know what to expect and how to handle anything that comes up. Try making it a personal policy that you focus on work related issues during while on the job and take care of caregiving responsibilities during your lunch break and at the end of the day. Maintaining this separation is crucial to being able to balance both responsibilities. Boundaries such as this is also important to make sure that work is not coming home with you, it goes both ways.
3. Stay Organized
I personally am a big fan of calendars (both physical and digital) and planners. Using these to keep track of all appointments, making to do lists, and any other important dates will help to everything straight and you will not need to worry if you forgot something. Another key part of staying organized is making sure that not only are you writing down appointments and tasks to do for your loved one, but also making these lists for yourself. Any appointments or commitments that you may have that you make sure you are not putting on the backburner. Here is a link to a specific caregiving planner that encompasses a lot of information that you might be noting each day. There are tons of planners out there so if this one doesn’t work for you, just keep searching!
4. Practice Self-Care
I know it is easier said than done. It can be hard to try to focus on yourself when you loved one needs you. Just remember, you cannot put your best foot forward and be there for your loved one if you are running on empty. Self-care can be as simple as taking an hour to watch an episode of your favorite show, taking 10 minutes for some yoga, fixing yourself your favorite meal or getting takeout from your favorite restaurant! Self-care does not have to feel like another task to do, just doing these little things can make a world of difference for you.
5. Consider Hiring a Caregiver
Do not consider this a failure of you. Asking for help can be hard and it does not mean that you failed, or you do not love and care for your loved one. It means quite the opposite. If you find that caregiving is causing you too much stress or you just need an extra set of hands, hiring an in-home caregiver can be a good and necessary step. There are tons of different types of in-home caregivers and the AARP breaks it down very well.
