Caregiving is not for everyone. Taking care of another person can be very demanding and stressful. It can impact your life both mentally and physically. If caregiving is impacting your mental health and your job, it might be time to talk to your employer. Below are some suggestions to make you feel comfortable about talking to the different people at work.
Know Your Audience When Sharing
Talking about your personal life at work can have ups and downs. This is how rumors start. Talking to your friend by the water cooler about your weekend is one thing. Opening up about personal things in your life that could be affecting your performance at work is another. Less is best. Talking to a good friend at work might feel different than talking to your boss or someone in Human Resources (HR). If the person in the next cubical sounds concerned or is noticing a change with you (example: that your day dreaming a lot), It might be time to talk to someone. Talk to your immediate supervisor first. HR will most likely ask if you’ve gone to your boss for help, so it’s best to start there. Let them know what is going on in in your life. Keep it general terms. “My mom isn’t feeling well these days”. “I’ve been spending a lot of time there lately”. You just wanted to let them know in case there is an emergency. You have to consider why you’re sharing this information with them. Are you being proactive or reactive? Proactive (controlling a situation before it happens). Reactive (needing help or resources to something that has happened already).
Think Before You Speak
Talking to your supervisor about your personal life or mental health can be challenging. You don’t want to create a situation between your boss and you. There may not have been a situation even to begin with. In other words, they might not have noticed a change in your work. Keep it positive. Before you start, think about what you want to say. This can control your emotion about the conversation you’re about to have. You don’t need to go into detail about everything for them to understand that something in your personal life is affecting you.
Define Help
Caregiving can often make your mind wander and not focused at work because you’re worried about what’s happening next. What is it that you need from your employer? Is it just someone to talk to? Do you need resources. It could be one or both. Here, you should define what it is that you will need from your employer. HR may offer support for mental health conditions or provide you with an employee assistance program (EAP) to connect you with a short-term mental health provider. Not all employers have benefits that will support a caregiver’s need. You may only be able to discuss things like time off, a flexible schedule, or a workload change.
Understanding Your Options
All employees are not created equal when it comes to benefits. You can be part of a union which is different from non-union member, or even a 1099 employee in which your responsible for yourself. One thing for sure is that you have the right to privacy and reasonable accommodations. You may have access to FMLA leave (Family and Medical Leave Act), where you’ll be allowed to use that time to care for a spouse, child, or parent. You may have paid time off (PTO) or even sick time that might be available to use. Your employer may also have access to short-term disability benefits that can cover some of your salary if you need to take additional time off for your mental health.
Be Prepared to Educate
Not many people, especially businesses, know or understand the stress that comes with caregiving. Be prepared to provide information to your employer to help them better understand what you’re going through and how to support you. Sharing this book with business leaders will help them understand the pitfalls of caregiving.