Articles

The balancing act between care and work – one million people do it

02/11/2017

A staggering 1 million employees may well be juggling jobs and care responsibilities, without informing their bosses. The reason for keeping quiet about this is because they are scared to tell anyone, in case there are repercussions. 

Recently a study was carried out, and found that 22% of UK adults did not inform their bosses about their care commitments, while only 18% ever felt comfortable enough to tell a colleague. The study was carried out by more than 1,000 people who had care responsibilities such as taking care of children, spouses, older family members, or close friends with illnesses or disabilities.

When questioned as to why they did not inform their bosses, 26% said that they did want others to think that they may not be doing their work as well as they could.

8% went on to say that they were concerned in case they lost their jobs, and a further 8% were convinced that future career prospects would be affected.

Chief executive Andy Briggs (UK Insurance Aviva) recently said that research shows 20% leave full time employment to care for another person. This means that workplaces are constantly losing vital skills and good workers.

Mr Briggs said that it is very important that employers find a way to support workers who are in this situation. It is not acceptable that some employees find they simply cannot confide in managers or friends about their extra work load. This is something which must be done away with as soon as possible. People need to be encouraged to have open conversations about extra responsibilities at home.

Plans have already been set out at Government level, to give workers statutory rights to carer’s leave, if needed, and the sooner businesses start to support their workers, the better.

The study also revealed that when asked about care duties, 83% of workers with care commitments believed that they would be expected to take unpaid leave to fulfil things such as appointments. This was due to the many times they had to leave work at short notice to care for someone.  

In a survey carried out by the Carer’s Trust, it was found that there are a staggering 4.27 million carers who have regular jobs in the UK, with 1 in 8 employed people working as carers, as well as holding down regular jobs.

The survey done by Aviva was carried out at the same time as the launching of their company care policy, which allows more flexibility for workers. This will enable them to balance their care work and work life. Included in this policy is access to paid leave for carers, as well as being entitled to the same allowances as parents who take unpaid leave.

Mr Briggs concluded by saying that because of changing demographics, as well as a population who is living longer, 3 in 5 people will in the future be taking care of someone at some time in their lives. Aviva has taken this step sooner, rather than later, to show their support for employees, as well as the people they need to take care of.