How to support the sandwich generation in the workplace

By Nicky Champ

Over 2.6 million Australians are carers, but a growing number of Australians are finding themselves ‘sandwiched’ between meeting the needs of young (or teenage) children, ageing parents, and work.  
 

Researchers have identified two distinct groups within the sandwich generation: 

• Sandwich Carers: People in their 40s with younger kids and parents beginning to need care. 
• Double or Club Sandwich Carers: People in their 60s, sandwiched between elderly parents, adult children and grandchildren (double sandwich carers often care for their grandchildren so their adult kids can work). 

 
While official numbers are hard to understand, an estimated 1.5 million middle-aged Aussies are part of the ‘sandwich generation.’ 

Think about the top performers in your organisation, are they headed for this life stage? 
 

Baby Boomers are ageing. Who is going to care for them?   

Australians have one of the highest life expectancies in the world. On average, men live 80 years and women live 84, 25 years longer than a century ago. Baby boomers (born between 1945 and 1964) now account for 21.5 per cent of the nation’s 25 million-plus residents, with the more senior members now aged in their late seventies.  

Historically, unpaid caring roles have been undertaken by women. Figures from the 2022 HILDA survey show females are “considerably more likely” to be carers than males, with 10.3 per cent of females over 15 providing unpaid care compared with 6.3 per cent of males. This disproportionate share impacts women in many ways, meaning they are less likely to engage in full-time paid work, retire with less superannuation, earn less (hello gender pay gap), and more likely to experience a mental health condition.  

High-stress levels among those in the sandwich or double sandwich generation can be exacerbated by isolation, a lack of support, and their own physical health conditions. Throw in the pressures of work and that sandwich starts to resemble toasted cheese: stretched thin and on the verge of melting (down).   

The upside is that employers and leaders can take action in many ways to support carers in the workplace.  
 

The benefits of supporting carers  

Supporting employees with caring responsibilities can have positive impacts in the workplace. Organisations that provide strong support are more likely to see: 

• increased engagement 
• job satisfaction 
• productivity 
• performance 

• employee retention 
• lower rates of absenteeism. 

9 Tips to support carers in the workplace  

Positive workplace policies and practices include:  

• Encourage flexible family arrangements, including flexible use of family leave in the family’s interests, across the various transitions of parenting and caring. 

• Provide education to the whole organisation about emotional and mental health at this life stage to increase capacity to identify and respond should they identify distress in themselves or others.

• Provide access to carer-related support and direct services, including Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and dependent care assistance programs for mental health support if needed. 

• Provide access to job-protected paid family leave, in addition to Parental Leave, available equally to all parents and carers. 

• Champion and promote flexibility in senior leadership roles, so this is not seen as a barrier to professional development. 

• Establish peer networks to help individuals connect with and learn from the experiences of others. 

• Tackling gender equity at the start – visibly support and enable dads and non-birth partners to take longer periods of parental leave. Supporting dads and non-birth partners to take leave signals a greater investment in family life—reducing the burden on the mother and strengthening parental relationships. Use senior leadership as role models and explicitly address concerns about taking leave, reassuring workers of opportunities for career growth and promotion. 

• Provide easy and independent access to policies and procedures so that workers can see what is available without having to ask. 

• Don’t ‘set and forget’. Consider what support is needed for all types of family carers, and how those needs change over time. For example, parenthood involves ongoing transition points as children grow from babies and toddlers to school-aged children and into adolescents. 

Establishing a reputation as a family-friendly employer that provides genuine and practical support to carers can contribute to a healthy and engaged workforce. Workplaces that educate and encourage help-seeking behaviours by providing practical tools, resources and information can help all carers successfully navigate this tricky life stage. 

To find out more about how Transitioning Well can help you support parents and carers in your workplace, take a look at our transition coaching resources.