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HR
West
®
H
igh stress is the first thing that comes
up when interviewing Darrielle Ehrheart,
Clinical Manager of Dignity Healthcare
in Sacramento. The second thing is being pulled in
multiple directions with competing time demands.
Flexibility and balance are the new basis to what
makes employees more productive and happy. The
goal is to create a dual-centric (equal emphasis)
culture which gives employees satisfaction and the
ability to balance work and home demands. No
longer do employees relate to work with a singular
focus. Instead, work competes with other critical
issues for attention.
For example, an employee that needs to tend to an
ailing parent, stay home with a sick child, or attend
a parent/teacher conference requires flexibility to
address these personal demands. And this has
never been more prevalent than among the growing
population of The Sandwich Generation.
The Sandwich Generation is just that - people caught
in the middle. Parents are still living, with special
needs that must be addressed. Children and spouse
have very different and sometimes conflicting needs.
Grandchildren also often need care and always need
loving. And what about The Sandwich Generation
itself? Its own individual needs as well as dreams?
According to Carol Abaya, the woman
who coined the term Sandwich Generation:
The Sandwich Generation traditionally relates
to those in the 45 to 64 age group. But realty
confuses these numbers. People in their late 60s
and even 70s are caring for relatives in the 80s
and 90s. At the other end, people in their 30s and
40s - often the youngest female of several offspring
- are caring for sick parents or grandparents. Or
the child living closest to the parent is “chosen”
to bear the heaviest burden. At the same time,
40% of these younger caregivers are bringing
up their own children. In fact, many women will
spend more years caring for parents than for their
children. At least one-third of all women now over
18 can expect to be lifetime caregivers - from their
children’s cradles to their parents’ graves.
The act of trying to balance everyone’s needs is
putting a new face on our society. There are unique
pressures on society as a whole, and even more on
each individual. Many along the way undoubtedly
find they are unable to juggle priorities, maintain
positive relationships with other family members,
and achieve self-fulfillment and happiness.
A study conducted by the Sloan Center of Aging
and Work reported that the majority of each of age
group/generation which has access to flexible work
options, also indicated that these options contribute
to their overall quality of life “to a great extent.”
Moreover, employees between the ages of 36-52
(Generation X) were the most likely to indicate that
workplace flexibility contributed to their success as
an employee, whereas the largest percentage of the
Gen X’ers and the Older Baby Boomers claimed that
having access to flexible work options contributed
to their success as an employee “to a great extent.”
In contrast, the most frequent response from Gen
Y’ers, Younger Baby Boomers, and Traditionalist to
flexible work options contributing to their success
was “to a moderate extent.”
This study shows the need for employers to
understand the connection between quality of life and
higher productivity in the workplace. Furthermore,
Feature
SANDWICH GENERATION:
SUPPORTING EMPLOYEES CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE
THE
By Laura Perez
