September is Healthy Aging Month – Let the experts from Unum explain how adult caregiving responsibilities impact today’s workforce

People are living and working longer.  One the whole, this is positive news. But as we embrace our aging population, it is taking a toll on those who are tasked with caring for them.

Balancing caregiving responsibilities with work can cause emotional, physical and financial stress on an employee, often resulting in lower productivity or engagement at work.

A recent report by Unum “Adult Caregiving: Generational considerations for America’s workforce,” details findings from research fielded among adult caregivers, including Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials.

Some key caregiver findings include:

• Most (58 percent) are caring for a parent or in-law, with spouse (16 percent) and adult child (10 percent) accounting for other top responses
• In addition to their caregiving responsibilities, most caregivers (55 percent) are working more than 30 hours per week
• Caregiving responsibilities result in missed work or tardiness (52 percent) and lower productivity on the job (22 percent)
• Caregivers report stress, anxiety and/or depression (61 percent), exhaustion (49 percent) and financial strain (44 percent)

“This report helps to spotlight not only the prevalence of caregivers in our workforce, but the many challenges they face in balancing personal and professional responsibilities,” said Michelle Jackson, AVP Regional Market Development at Unum. “Employers are being challenged to meet these caregivers’ needs if they’re to attract and retain a quality workforce. Nearly 90 percent of survey respondents said that an employer’s leave policies are important when considering or changing jobs.”

Adult Caregiving is a popular topic and if you are a journalist covering this subject – let us help.

Michelle Jackson is the Assistant Vice President, Market Development for Unum, a leading provider of workplace financial protection benefits. She specializes in mental and behavioral health, caregiving, aging family members, paid family leave, and workplace issues. She is available to speak with media - simply click on her icon to arrange an interview.