It’s probably not a surprise to you that more than half of all adults providing family care to an older loved one are female. What you might not know is that this places a huge strain on these women as they are torn between helping a parent or spouse, other members of their family, keeping up their home, and remaining a valuable employee within their workplace. In fact, more than half of females acting as a family caregiver reported that they felt torn between being a good employee and being a good caregiver. Unfortunately, with the way that our health system works, this is a reality for millions of individuals right now.
Here’s what makes this even worse on family caregivers: about a quarter of those surveyed believed that there was a stigma attached to being a caregiver and that their supervisors were unsympathetic toward the difficulty that they faced. Add to that the fact that women are currently more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, and you will see that this is not a small problem. When asked to choose, it is often the job that loses out. This is surely a testament to the love that we all have for our families, but that doesn’t mean that this is an easy choice, or even a fair one.
For many, the thought of hiring a professional respite caregiver never crosses their minds.
However, respite care can be a very beneficial choice for some. How it works is instead of a family caregiver applying all of the care, once in a while a professional caregiver steps in and takes over. Not only does this ensure that you or whoever the main caregiver is in your family get a break, it puts a safeguard in place so that the quality of care does not diminish. If you do hire a respite caregiver, be sure that the service that employs them has conducted a background check and insures the caregiver, too. This way you can have peace of mind that your loved one is in the safest of hands.
This choice can make a world of difference for you, your loved one in need, and the rest of your family. Rather than running yourself ragged between your job and your other duties, you can take a break and recharge yourself. It’s not a permanent break from your duties, but it can help relieve some of that pressure from work and allow you to keep your job.
In the United States there has been a recent push for employers to start including benefits that would help families in such a situation. Some companies already do carry these benefits for their employees, but they are not legally required to. That means that only a tiny number of people are receiving the support that they need from their place of employment. Again, given our country’s current legal requirements, this is just how it is. The sad part is that people that we care about suffer as a result.
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