One in three people working from home during COVID has also had caring responsibilities, according to a Hays survey. And one in six had no partner to share these responsibilities. That means some of your employees are affected by it – and it’s likely to affect their work.
What are you doing about this? Do you even know which of your employees has caring responsibilities? Read on to find out how to handle this – and why you need to.
How it can affect your people
While everyone’s experience is different, the survey revealed some key stats:
- 55% of workers with caring responsibilities say it’s negatively affected their work/life balance.
- 43% say their mental health has suffered.
- 31% say it’s damaged colleague relationships.
- 18% say it’s harmed their career progression.
How it can affect you
Taking care of your people’s wellbeing isn’t just nice, it’s necessary. Morale and productivity will suffer if people don’t feel supported; and worse than that, they will leave.
55% – over half – of workers with caring responsibilities say they’re looking for a new job right now because they haven’t been adequately supported by their employers.
How you can support your people
- Talk to them. Find out about the situation (without invading their privacy) and ask them what support you could offer them and how you could make things easier for them at work.
- Offer praise where you can. They’re going to be worried about their performance, so if you see anything they’re doing well, point it out to reassure them.
- Give them official training. While they do need your support, they also need practical skills and resources to handle their situation as well as possible. Offer them wellbeing training or some sessions with a counsellor.