More and more employees are combining their jobs with caregiving responsibilities. While this often places a significant burden on their employees, discussing this challenge with a manager can sometimes be difficult. But how do you approach this? An open work culture and helpful communication tools can help. In this blog post, we explain how to discuss your caregiving responsibilities, why an open culture is important, and which tools you can use.
How do you discuss informal care with your manager?
Declaring your caregiving responsibilities can be daunting, but transparency is often the key to successful collaboration. Follow these steps to prepare for the conversation:
- Choose the right moment: Schedule a quiet moment with your manager, for example during a performance review or a one-on-one meeting.
- Be honest and specific: Describe your responsibilities and how they might impact your work. For example: "I care for my sick parent daily, which means I have to leave an hour early every afternoon."
- Offer solutions: Think in advance about how you can organize your work, for example by working flexibly or arranging your hours differently.
- Make clear agreements: Put agreements on paper and evaluate them regularly.
Tip: Use the information from Informal careNL for more background information about your rights and obligations.
The importance of an open culture around informal care
Many employees are afraid to share their situation for fear of negative reactions. An open workplace culture is essential to support caregivers:
- Better work-life balance: Employees who feel supported experience less stress and are more productive.
- Talent Retention: Caregiver-friendly policies ensure that employees are less likely to be absent from work or resign.
- Positive working atmosphere: Colleagues who understand and support each other contribute to pleasant cooperation.
Employers can encourage this by developing caregiver-friendly guidelines and training managers to recognize signs of overload.
Useful tools for communicating about care and work
There are several resources that can help you combine caregiving and work:
- Digital agendas: Use shared calendars to make your availability clear.
- Caregiver-friendly policy: Check if your organization has a policy that takes informal care into account. If not, suggest discussing it.
- E-learning modules: Employers can offer training on how employees can combine informal care and work.
- HR Support: Discuss with HR what resources or adjustments are available, such as leave arrangements.
Useful: The central government offers a overview of (legal) regulations for informal caregivers.
How can De Unie help you?
As a caregiver it is not always easy to find your way through complex regulations and agreements. De Unie We're here to support you. Our legal specialists can advise you on your rights and obligations. We can also help you prepare for the meeting with your employer.
Become a member of De Unie and access our comprehensive support! Have questions? Call us on weekdays between 8:30 AM and 17:00 PM at 0345 851 963 or send an email to sc@unie.nl.
