Caring at a distance: Bridging the Gap

According to the Employers for Carers report in July (Caring at a Distance: bridging the gap) there are currently three million unpaid cares juggling full time jobs with unpaid care. This is set to increase to 4.5 million within the next 25 years. This excludes the many that are self-employed, working abroad, and those who do charitable work.

Of the carers surveyed a half felt that the combination of full time work and care placed a great deal of anxiety on them and led to fatigue, and a further third felt that their ability to work would be compromised at some stage in the future.

From the employers perspective, a clear majority (70%) said that they had not identified the particular needs of employees who are managing caring at a distance.

What are your experiences of working and caring? What do employers need to do to help? What external support is needed?