The New “Female Problem”

Caregiver stress affects women in the workplace

In the halls of the nation’s businesses, the hushed whispers once reserved for gossip and Monday morning quarterbacking now echo the despair that stressed-out women are feeling in their role as caregivers. While a growing percentage of today’s caregivers are men, the role is still largely filled by women. Male management does not have the tools to adequately discuss and remedy what could be considered the new “female problem” in the workplace.

An individual’s face may not readily give away clues of caregiver stress, but a quick look at that employee’s attendance record will reveal absenteeism caused by caring for an aging loved one. Another clue is that the employee has been submitting health care benefit claims for stress-related disorders, including doctor visits and prescription orders.

Businesses and the overall economy are negatively impacted by caregivers who are emotionally drained by the burden of their role. The financial component of caregiver stress is far more reaching than that person’s wallet. The trickle-down effect hurts all of our pockets as it robs employers of nearly $33.6 billion, according to the MetLife Working Caregiver Report—money lost in employee absenteeism, lateness, replacement expenses, and other related costs.

Stressed-out caregivers are susceptible to a whole host of problems as their immune system becomes compromised under the weight and associated guilt of caregiving. Migraines and GI disorders are just the tip of the iceberg. Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser and colleagues at Ohio State University published health studies in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicating that individuals caring for a loved one with dementia showed four times greater annual increases than non-caregivers in interleukin (IL-6). Interleukin is a key molecule within the immune system linked in previous studies to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, adult-onset diabetes, and a greater likelihood of death. Caregivers overwhelmed by stress are also highly susceptible to depression.

If you are a caregiver, you need to learn to recognize when your duties are getting the best of you. Finding community resources that offer services to you and your loved one can be just the prescription needed to bounce back.

By Patricia Grace
Aging with Grace Blog