Employees don’t have to sacrifice their mental health to be good caregivers

As the COVID crisis forced even greater responsibility on the shoulders of employees juggling caregiving responsibilities, more employers are exploring ways they can better support these workers.

There are a total of 53 million unpaid family caregivers in the U.S., according to AARP data. Fifty-six percent of caregivers are employed full time, according to research from information resource Caregiver.org, and on average, employed caregivers work 34.7 hours a week.

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“From caring for my autistic aunt, to my dying father, and now my kids, my life has revolved around the role of caregiver,” says Adam Goldberg, CEO and founder of Torchlight, a digital-first caregiver support platform for employers. “Over the years, the single biggest takeaway I learned is that the emotional toll of caregiving can only be addressed when a caregiver has the strategies, tools, and steps necessary to yield progress.”

That’s why Torchlight’s latest product is a new tool and dashboard that will allow employee caregivers to self-assess their abilities, well-being and effectiveness in order to become a better worker and caregiver, and access vital resources that can help them balance competing responsibilities.

“With so much on a caregiver’s plate, it can be extremely challenging to balance work and caregiving,” Goldberg says. “And many times, it leads to burnout.”

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Providing support to a loved one in need can take an emotional and physical toll on the caregiver, especially when that person is also working a full time job. The added responsibilities can result in an increase in absenteeism at work, loss of productivity, and could even result in some employees leaving the workforce altogether. Sixty-seven percent of employers cite caregiving as the number one driver of employee stress, according to research from Willis Towers Watson.

Through Torchlight’s web-based platform — which is available to all Torchlight’s employer clients — employees will be able to measure themselves through five categories: well-being, adaptability, self-care, collaboration and effectiveness. Caregivers will then receive an analysis of their own strengths and challenges as caregivers, and based on how they score, caregivers will automatically receive resource recommendations to help build their knowledge and skills in the areas needing improvement.

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Caregivers can take the assessment more than once, allowing them to build an understanding of their well-being and effectiveness over time. The goal is to ultimately help them reduce the stresses and strains of caring for a loved one.

“We want to help employee caregivers become more effective in their roles, and help employers become more effective in supporting their workforce,” Goldberg says. “We know that caregivers who struggle are more likely to leave their jobs, take more time off and suffer from mental and physical health challenges. Our hope is that our self-assessment can give both the employers and the employees better insights into ways they can make some fundamental changes in order to reduce stress and enhance performance outcomes.”