Work pressures block caring role

Fewer people will be able to help with caring for grandchildren or
older parents because of pressures to stay in paid work for
longer.

A Joseph Rowntree Foundation study found that people aged between
50 and retirement age are a “pivot” generation, often combining
work and care roles. It shows that two-thirds of this group are in
paid employment, while 60 per cent of 50-year-olds have living
parents, and a third have grandchildren.

Few of the 1,000 employees aged over 50 who were interviewed wanted
to give up their jobs in order to take on caring. Although some
grandparents were prepared to give up work or reduce their hours to
look after grandchildren, there was a reluctance to offer full-time
care.

Almost half of those with caring responsibilities said it had made
their life more stressful and a third said it left them with less
time for their family and themselves.

In some cases the health of carers had suffered as a result of
their combined caring duties and work.

“People over 50 can increasingly expect to find themselves
pressurised between employers who want them to stay on and growing
pressure to care for grandchildren, their own elderly parents, or
both,” said June Statham, research officer in the Thomas Coram
Research Unit and co-author of the report.

“Without more resources to support carers, in and out of work,
their contribution may not be sustainable,” she added. 

– Pivot Generation from 01235 465500