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W
orkers caring for aging parents and young children are being
inundated with demands on their time.
Work-life balance for this group — known as the "sand-
wich generation" — comes at a great cost to employees and
employers alike, according to Revising Work-Life Issues in
Canada: e 2012 National Study on Balancing Work and
Caregiving in Canada.
Conducted by Linda Duxbury and Christopher Higgins,
the study found 63 per cent of caregivers report negative emotional consequences
of juggling work and looking a er family, including stress, anxiety and frustra-
tion. As a result, "employees in the sandwich generation are getting worn down
by the demands on their time and lack the resilience to emotionally separate the
work-life domains."
e study was based on a work-life balance survey of 25,021 employees. Of
those, nearly 8,000 responded to questions about caregiving and researchers con-
ducted 111 followup phone interviews.
Employers are also aff ected by the strain on the sandwich generation. Burnout
SQUEEZE
WORKING
CAREGIVERS
'Sandwich
generation'
caught
between
caring
for
children,
elderly
parents
By
Christine
omlinson
and
Parisa
Nikfarjam
FEELING
THE
