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Work/care balance
What are the challenges for informal caregivers when combining paid work duties with informal care?
Balancing informal care and work can be challenging for you, but with careful planning and effective strategies, it is possible to manage both responsibilities. To overcome the challenges, here are some practical tips:
- Identify care needs determining the level and type of care the person needs.
- Evaluate work demands seeking to understand your work responsibilities, including deadlines, travel requirements, and the possibility of flexible hours.
- Discuss your situation with your employer or HR department to explore flexible working hours, remote work options, or job-sharing possibilities. If possible, arrange to work from home, which can help in managing caregiving duties more efficiently.
- Share caregiving responsibilities with other family members if possible.
- Consider hiring professional caregivers or using respite care services for temporary relief. Look into community resources, such as adult daycare centres, support groups, and non-profit organisations that help.
- Develop a daily or weekly schedule that includes both work and caregiving tasks. Focus on high-priority tasks first, both at work and in caregiving.
- Utilise apps and tools for reminders, scheduling, and communication to stay organised.
- Ensure you have personal time to rest and recharge, even if it’s just a few minutes a day. Ensure you are eating well, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly.
- Familiarise yourself with laws and policies related to family caregiver leave.
- Plan for the financial aspects of caregiving, including potential costs and available benefits or subsidies.
How to find a balance between informal care and paid work?
Balancing caregiving and work duties can be incredibly challenging, but it also offers several benefits for both caregivers and their employers. Here are some key benefits:
- Sense of accomplishment while successfully managing both caregiving and work responsibilities can lead to a strong sense of achievement and personal satisfaction.
- Emotional rewards, as caregivers often experience deep emotional rewards from caring for their loved ones, including strengthened relationships and a sense of purpose.
- Continued income, as maintaining employment provides caregivers with a steady income, which is crucial for covering personal expenses and caregiving-related costs.
- Benefits and retirement savings, as staying in the workforce allows caregivers to retain employee benefits such as health insurance, retirement savings, and other financial security measures.
- Balancing caregiving and work can enhance time management, problem-solving, and multitasking skills, which are valuable in any professional setting.
- Career progression, as continued participation in the workforce enables caregivers to pursue career advancement opportunities and professional development.
- Networking opportunities, as staying engaged in the workforce allows caregivers to maintain professional networks, which can be beneficial for career advancement and support.
- Mental diversion, as work can serve as a mental break from caregiving responsibilities, helping to prevent caregiver burnout and maintain mental health.
- Improved care quality as caregivers who balance work and caregiving effectively can provide better care for their loved ones, as they are less likely to experience burnout and stress.
Balancing caregiving and work duties can be highly beneficial for caregivers, their families, employers, and society as a whole. It requires supportive workplace policies, flexible work arrangements, and access to resources, but the positive outcomes can be substantial in terms of personal fulfilment, financial stability, professional growth, and overall well-being.
How to find a balance between informal care and paid work?
Balancing informal care and work is essential for maintaining the caregiver’s physical and mental health, ensuring high-quality care for the family member in need of care, and achieving professional success. It supports financial stability, personal fulfilment, and long-term sustainability, ultimately benefiting both the caregiver and the person in need of care. The following two contrasting stories of balanced Emma and stressed Anna provide valuable lessons about the importance of balance, seeking support, and prioritising self-care when facing significant challenges:
- Emma asks for help and utilises available resources and can make a significant difference in managing both personal and professional responsibilities. While Anna is trying to handle everything alone, which can lead to burnout and deteriorating mental and physical health.
- Emma’s supportive workplace policies, such as flexible working hours and remote work options, help her to maintain her professional roles. While Anna refuses workplace support and balancing work and caregiving becomes nearly impossible for her.
- Emma’s open communication with employers, family, and friends is crucial. While Anna’s lack of communication isolates caregivers, making them feel overwhelmed and unsupported.
- Emma’s prioritizing self-care and mental health is essential for her ability to care for others and to perform well at work. While Anna’s neglecting self-care leads to physical and emotional exhaustion.
Balancing caregiving and work duties can be highly beneficial for caregivers, their families, employers, and society as a whole. It requires supportive workplace policies, flexible work arrangements, and access to resources, but the positive outcomes can be substantial in terms of personal fulfilment, financial stability, professional growth, and overall well-bein
Good Practices
Caregiver Desks
Caregiver desks activated at the local level (e.g., Bologna, Turin):
They offer free counseling on legal, psychological and caregiving issues.
They often organize training courses to improve caregiving skills and reduce stress. Link here.
Caregiver Academy
Created by organizations such as ABI (Italian Association of Caregivers), it offers trainings and resources to help caregivers better manage the work-care relationship. Link here.
Funds for caregivers
Fund to support the caregiving role of family caregiver:
Established by the Ministry of Labor, supports regional projects targeting caregivers.
Italian regions, such as Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Veneto, use these funds to finance respite initiatives, home-based services and personalized projects for reconciliation. Link here.
Zorggenoot (Care fellow)
Zorggenoot is a startup organisation aimed to support informal caregivers, improve the work/care balance, and prevent overload. Employers, municipalities and care organisations can get a subscription through which informal caregivers can access their platform. The platform contains support measures and information on how to organise care and increase self -reliance. Link here | AI helpline.
Fello
Fello aims to improve the work-life balance for informal caregivers. If an organisation chooses to use their services, employees will have access to a personal coach that helps with arrangments, questions, and moral support. Link here.
Werk & Mantelzorg (Work & Informal Care)
Werk & Mantelzorg aims to move employers to enable the combination of informal care and work. They offer inspiration, knowledge, facts and figures, and practical tools. Through their employers programme organisations can earn the certificate ‘mantelzorgvriendelijk’ (informal care friendly). Link here.
Redução de taxa contributiva para a entidade empregadora [Reduction of the Employer’s Contribution Rate]
When entering into a permanent employment contract with workers who have a work capacity of 80% or less, the employer may receive a 50% reduction in the social security contribution rate. Link here.
Marca entidade empregadora inclusiva [Inclusive Employer Brand]
Program that promotes the recognition and public distinction of open and inclusive management practices developed by employers concerning people with disabilities. Link 1 | Link 2.
Home-based care
Home-based care best meets the needs of the people being cared for and the health system. Care receivers are most comfortable in their natural environment, where they receive the comprehensive care they need. Link here.
List of Materials
- Law 104/1992
Guarantees informal caregivers (relatives up to the 2nd degree of kin of persons with severe disabilities) paid work leave (3 days per month).
- Self-help course ‘Work and Informal care’
The University medical centre of Amsterdam created a self-help manual on combining work and social life with informal care - Roadmap: How can you combine work and informal care?
MantelzorgNL offers a roadmap to help informal caregivers find solutions to their specific situation on how to combine care and work. - Real-life experiences
On the website of WOMEN Inc. You can find an article containing three interviews with informal caregivers about how they combine care with work.
- Respite care
Working and caring is exhausting. Think about the possibility of respite care if you need a holiday. There is more general information on the topic in the title link. - Short-term care
If you cannot leave the person you care for alone at home while you are working, you might find a daily short-term care useful. You can find more general information in the topic in the title link. - (Family) care time
If you want or must reduce your job because of caring, you have the right to reduce your working time as an employee and you can take an interest-free loan while being in (family-) care time. You can find more general information in the topic in the title link. Additional info. - Short time inability to work.
If there is an acute care situation you have the option of being absent from work for up to ten working days per year in order to organise needs-based care or to ensure nursing care during this time. Moreover an income replacement, the Pflegeunterstützungsgeld (carers grant) can be applied for ten days per year per person in need of care.
- Respite care
- Direitos laborais do cuidador trabalhador [Labour rights of working carers]
Measures shared by Social Security (Segurança Social) regarding the labour rights of working carers - Dicas para manter o equilíbrio entre vida pessoal e a prestação de cuidados [Tips for maintaining a balance between personal life and care work]
Article offering practical tips for managing the balance between personal life and caregiving responsibilities, including strategies for handling work commitments alongside caregiving tasks.
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House & Living
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