Retrospective review of a carer-employee workplace intervention

Abstract

In response to a growing aging population, carer-employees – who balance both unpaid care and paid employment, have become an increasingly normative phenomenon. In order to support the growing population of carer-employees, some employers have implemented carer-friendly workplace policies aimed at keeping carer-employees employed and healthy. This study sought to retrospectively review the effectiveness of one such carer-employee workplace intervention which had been implemented in a post-secondary institution located in Southern Ontario. The study consisted of a thematic analysis of fourteen semi-structured post-intervention interviews from carer-employee participants. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed the following themes: (i) the pre-existing circumstances of participants; (ii) recommendations made by participants to improve the intervention; (iii) benefits participants received from the intervention; and (iv) factors limiting the benefits participants received from the intervention. Furthermore, the thematic analysis revealed several positive outcomes commonly experienced by intervention participants, namely: improvements in self-reported mental and physical wellbeing, greater self-confidence in caregiving abilities, and access to respite. These findings align with the larger literature on carer-employees and caregiver-friendly workplace policies.