Released Feb. 21, 2008

SPOONER, Wis. -- You probably work with one, though you may not know it.

It might be the colleague tending to an aging parent, the working mother caring for an adult child with a disability, or the co-worker supporting a chronically ill spouse.

They are members of the more than 30 million American households providing at-home care for loved ones.

"Most people don't readily identify themselves as caregivers," says Dianne Weber, University of Wisconsin-Extension family living educator in Washburn County. "Most of us know when a co-worker with young children needs time off to care for sick kids. But we might not know when someone is caring for a loved one at home--it's just more invisible."

Weber and other UW-Extension colleagues are part of a team participating in a four-state pilot program funded by AARP to develop a "toolkit" of educational resources for those working with family caregivers.

"Beyond gathering information for the AARP project, we also wanted our efforts to benefit employees who are caregivers and to interest community groups in offering education about caregiving," says team member Molly Spaulding, Green Lake County family living educator.

The team turned its attention to employees of county governments from six rural counties: Bayfield, Green Lake, Manitowoc, Taylor, Calumet and Washburn. Since the governments didn't know how many employees were also caregivers, the team developed a survey to find out.

"We got some phenomenal numbers," says Spaulding. "For example, in Green Lake County, of the 54 percent of employees who responded to the survey, 68 percent said they were caregivers."

Weber points out that caregiving can take place at different levels. "It can range from grocery shopping or helping with home repairs to round-the-clock care. But the bottom line is that most care is provided by friends and family," she says.

Overall, around 60 percent of those responding to the survey from the six-county area identified themselves as caregivers.

"We know that caregiving is a very emotional issue. Difficult decisions need to be made and it's best for employees to make them when they're not feeling stressed out," says Spaulding.

Employers also benefit when caregiving employees aren't sidelined by the stress of caregiving, but are able to maintain regular attendance and stay on the job.

"Our findings show that this is really an issue facing the workforce," says Spaulding. "Clearly, the effect of caregiving on workers is not yet something that is well-understood. This project is a good opportunity for us to find out what kind of information people need."

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http://www.uwex.edu/news/2008/02/ranks-of-family-caregivers-expand-in-the-workplace

Contacts: Dianne Weber, (715) 635-4444, dianne.weber@ces.uwex.edu

Molly Spaulding, (920) 294-4032, molly.spaulding@ces.uwex.edu