7 ways SMEs can support caregiving responsibilities of employees

Helping employees care for elderly and children can enhance SMEs’ productivity.

Caregiving responsibilities can have a significant impact on the careers of working adults, particularly women caring for children and elderly family members. Women often shoulder a disproportionate share of caregiving duties. This can lead to challenges in balancing work and family responsibilities, which in turn can affect their ability to be effective at the workplace.

The impact of caregiving on women employees’ career progress, work-life balance, and overall professional gains is significant even as the awareness for DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) is rising. This puts the onus on companies to create policies and processes to address the same. Large companies have the bandwidth and the wherewithal for it. Small companies need to take cognisance of this.

Here are some ways in which small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can support their employees in balancing work and caregiving:

1 Flexible work arrangements: Offer flexible work options such as remote work, flexible hours, part-time schedules, or job-sharing arrangements. This flexibility enables caregivers to manage their caregiving responsibilities while still contributing to their work. This is often shunned due to the wrong assumption that these arrangements are a drag on productivity. The reality is that a successful policy actually leads to better motivation, employee engagement and performance.

2 Family-friendly policies: Implementing family-friendly policies like extended parental leave, childcare assistance, on-site or subsidised daycare facilities, and flexible return-to-work programmes demonstrate the company's commitment to supporting caregivers and can alleviate some of their challenges. Once again, on the face of it, it looks a lot like more paid time off and less productivity. However, having a person conflicted about whether to fulfil his/her caregiving duties while being physically present in the office, or being on call, does not benefit any stakeholder, including the company.

3 Supportive workplace culture: Foster a supportive and inclusive workplace culture that values work-life balance and acknowledges the caregiving responsibilities of employees. Encouraging open communication and providing resources for employees to seek support, such as employee assistance programmes or counselling services will help the overall wellbeing of the company and its people.

4 Employee resource groups: Establish employee resource groups or support networks specifically designed for caregivers. These groups can provide a platform for sharing experiences, offering advice, and organising relevant resources and events. Having an ally at the workplace who is going through or has gone through similar struggles is a tremendous help. Offer employee assistance programmes like counselling, referral services, etc, to help people manage their caregiving challenges.

5 Employee benefits: Offer comprehensive benefits packages that include options for health insurance, dependent care assistance, flexible spending accounts, and other benefits that can directly support caregiving responsibilities. When done at a company level, the additional cost is not much. In an SME, this can be a big help for the employees as their expenses on these services will be much less when provided under group cover. In some instances, like medical cover for parents who are dependent senior citizens, it is a big help.

6 Clear communication and transparency: Maintain open and transparent communication channels to ensure employees feel comfortable discussing issues including their caregiving responsibilities and related challenges. Encourage supervisors and managers to be understanding and accommodating when it comes to caregiving issues. Regularly seek feedback from employees regarding their work-life balance and caregiving needs. Conduct surveys or focus groups to understand their challenges better and identify areas for improvement or additional support.

7 Professional development and advancement opportunities: Offer opportunities for professional development, mentoring, and advancement to employees who may have taken career breaks or reduced their hours due to caregiving responsibilities. Provide avenues for them to re-enter the workforce and continue progressing in their careers.

When leaders demonstrate understanding and actively support employees with caregiving responsibilities, it sets a positive tone for the entire organisation. Encourage senior leaders and managers to lead by example in balancing work and caregiving responsibilities.

These are general strategies, which underline the importance of how the company cares and is there for the employee in fair and rough situations. India has one of the best maternity leave policies in the world. When this was extended to six months, it was initially seen as a hurdle, but companies have adapted to it. Caregiving is increasingly becoming gender-agnostic. Therefore, it is no longer just women who might be a minority in the workforce needing such support.