Recent trends in caregiving include family caregivers becoming younger, new tools to assist with caregiving, and more. Agencies should stay aware of these shifts to provide optimal client service.
Despite all of its challenges, most family caregivers find caring for loved ones satisfying. According to a Forbes article published earlier this year, millennials were particularly likely to find caregiving fulfilling.
1. Millennials are taking on more caregiving responsibilities
People typically think of family caregivers as middle-aged females with careers and children. Yet as chronic diseases and improved treatments extend lifespans, younger generations have assumed greater caregiving responsibilities; according to Genworth Financial’s study on family caregiving responsibilities among under-fifty four year-olds more are taking on caregiving responsibilities than ever before, often for longer durations with limited resources at their disposal.
Baby Boomers remain the primary family caregivers, yet millennials are quickly catching up as major family caretakers. On average, millennials devote an average of 21 hours a week helping a loved one in need; more likely to work full-time jobs and devoting more of their income towards caregiving expenses than other caregiving groups.
At the same time, they often serve as primary caregivers to their parents while managing other familial obligations and managing careers and personal lives. Furthermore, many millennials feel trapped by stereotypes of “lazy and selfish” individuals that inhibit confidence when it comes to addressing health concerns for loved ones or seeking resources – although more caregiver support networks like Visiting Angels have begun offering respite services so millennials can still provide care while managing themselves effectively.
2. The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) has created more permanent caregiving situations
Family caregivers are entering the fold at an increasing pace, taking on greater responsibilities for elderly loved ones while needing support from home care agencies to find such help and retain these valuable employees.
Some companies have implemented measures that make opening their own home care agency much more cost-effective, such as eliminating initial franchise costs for new owners and offering training and retention programs to ensure quality care to clients and long-term commitment to this profession.
An important trend is the rising diversity within families. According to AARP’s Valuing the Invaluable report, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native family caregivers all possess unique experiences and needs when providing care to loved ones with specific care requirements. LGBTQ family caregivers play an especially essential role because they often provide the most effective care to meet these specific requirements.
Inflation and higher costs are increasing the stress on family caregivers. These expenses range from healthcare and housing costs, food supplies, and daily essentials such as toilet paper. Therefore, it’s critical that we recognize their impact so we can implement changes to better support family caregivers.
3. Companies are making more permanent workplace changes
As more caregivers shift away from traditional home care agency models, companies are adapting their workplace policies and benefits accordingly to better meet employee needs. Many now provide flexible working hours, remote work options, redesigned leave policies and dedicated staff focused on meeting family caregivers’ unique challenges – such as on-call support services to help balance caring responsibilities with professional work responsibilities.
Though many large employers already provide formal support for working caregivers, smaller businesses and organizations often struggle to offer comprehensive packages of assistance for working caregivers. Some solutions involve writing flexible working arrangements or compassionate leave into terms and conditions while others use employee assistance programs or simply allow employees to repurpose existing leave entitlements (sick leave and annual leave) towards providing care to loved ones.
COVID-19 PHE has led several families to move their elderly relatives from nursing homes into their own homes, creating an increasing need for home care services and leading to an increase in family caregivers, typically millennials. Many caregivers juggle multiple roles – often work and caregiving duties simultaneously – often leading them towards burnout, decreased productivity at work or health issues like sleep disruption, compromised immune systems or diet changes that lead to missed days at work.
4. There are fewer paid caregivers
People tend to think of caregivers as women – whether it’s their wife, adult daughter, granddaughter or another family member. Yet men are increasingly taking on these responsibilities: Northwestern University reports between 27%-33% of family caregivers are male caregivers.
Changes to gender dynamics have had profound ramifications on the workplace. Women who take time off for providing care experience slower wage growth and may miss out on promotions opportunities, according to an AARP study. Furthermore, nearly half of family caregivers who experience financial repercussions due to caring for someone reported going into debt or depleting savings accounts as a result.
Millennials have also changed the face of caregiving. Unlike Baby Boomer caregivers, Millennials have grown up as digital natives and are comfortable using technology for caregiving needs – including monitoring tools (app-controlled home cameras and door alarms), ridesharing apps to get to medical appointments quickly, online grocery shopping services, telemedicine systems and telehealth programs.
As it relates to supporting family and professional caregivers, there remains much work to do. First off, raising interest in long-term care industry careers by showing individuals what caregivers do. Companies should also facilitate easier work-life balancing solutions when necessary.