Did you know that two-thirds (64 per cent) of global employees in the ‘sandwich generation’—those who are caring for young children and ageing parents — say they’ve experienced depression and anxiety according to Benefits Canada? For more than six million working Canadians, caregiving isn’t just part of life — it’s part of the workday.
According to the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, caregiving touches every Canadian family, and employers can no longer ignore it. Do you know what this means to your business? Or how health insurance that you provide can help?
What challenges are faced by the Sandwich Generation?
When balancing the needs of their children and elderly parents, it can be tricky for employees to focus on their work. As immediate personal demands like childcare, getting groceries for the household, providing emotional support for loved ones in need and helping with doctor’s visits and medications, it’s more important than ever for your business to offer support.
Caregiving can have a profound impact on your business productivity, staff retention, and overall workplace well-being. As caregiving responsibilities grow, addressing this silent crisis is critical to your sandwich generation team members—not just for them, but for your business so it can remain competitive and sustainable in a changing world.
For many employees, the stress of caregiving leads to burnout, or emotional and physical exhaustion from trying to manage caregiving and work. It also leads to lost productivity, when family demands mean they need to take days of frequently and have difficulty focusing on work tasks.
The business case for providing health benefits to employees
Investing in health insurance and caregiver-friendly policies to support your sandwich gen employees isn’t just about doing the right thing—it’s also a smart business decision. Companies that prioritize caregiving support see:
- Improved Retention: Employees are more likely to stay with companies that value their personal needs, rather than quit to focus on their caregiving responsibilities.
- Increased Productivity: Reducing caregiving stress allows employees to focus better on work, reducing presenteeism – when employees are physically present in their job roles but are working below capacity because of distress – which is estimated to cost employers 7.5 to 10 times more than absenteeism.
- Enhanced Reputation: Businesses that support caregivers can attract top talent and build a positive employer brand, reducing the strain of costly hiring and training efforts.
By addressing the needs of your team members that are caregivers, you have the opportunity to enhance workplace culture and profitability.
Three ways health insurance can help provide support
Health insurance benefits are a powerful tool for supporting your employees when life demands so much of them. They enable employees to access mental and physical health services they need while reducing their out-of-pocket healthcare costs that provincial healthcare doesn’t cover.
When you have health insurance available to your employees, make sure they know it’s easy to access all the help the plan offers. Encourage employees to familiarize themselves with the resources available and make use of them whenever they feel stressed or overwhelmed, like:
- Mental health counselling
With a PRISM health and dental plan, employees can get the care they need with access to GreenShield+ where personalized counselling appointments are available within 24 hours when they need mental health support. Using the therapist matching tool they can get just the assistance they need. Prescription drug coverage that helps ensure employees have access to necessary medication treatments without worrying about the cost, and PRISM plans offer integrated pharmacy support to makes it easier for employees to access and adhere to their prescription medications and take care of themselves.
Many health plans provide virtual care, like Manulife Association plans that includes Akira by TELUS so employees can consult with a healthcare professional via video or text, get a diagnosis, prescriptions and lab requisitions and referrals to specialists. Health insurance plans also offer physical health therapy coverage including massage, chiropractic care, acupuncture, or other alternative treatments to help manage pain and discomfort that can accompany the stress of caregiving.
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
An EAP offers counseling, financial advice, and resources for caregivers, and plans like GMS Group Advantage include this tool for support and guidance. With a wellness focus on your employee’s overall well-being, they can seek out health education, screenings for sleep disorders, and preventive measures such as smoking cessation, weight management, exercise, and healthy eating promotion. Support includes financial counselling services to help employees manage their finances and access to licensed mental health professionals and counsellors for confidential counseling and support dealing with personal issues.
Support your caregivers now with health insurance
The caregiving crisis is no longer a future problem—it’s a present-day challenge that demands immediate attention. By acknowledging the impact of caregiving on your employees and implementing supportive measures like offering health insurance, you can foster a healthier, more productive workforce. At SBIS, we specialize in helping small business owners make the best possible decisions on what individual or small group health insurance plan will work best for your employees. Call us at 1-800-667-0429 Monday to Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET or go online to discover small business health insurance options for yourself. And, for more on helping caregivers, check out these informative government publications OCO_CMHA-Employer-Guide.pdf and TipsForEmployers-EN.pdf.
