To employers of all shapes and sizes, all sectors and markets, employing a carer can be a fantastic step for your organisation. Your success is based on good people and that is why you should open your eyes to the potential of employing people in the caring community. It can work for you, I am living proof of that, it just requires a different way of looking at how we work.
Let me tell you a little about me. I am mum to three kids, highly ambitious and was never going to step down in my career when I had a family. Baby no. one arrived and after six months I returned to work, no hassle at all. Then baby no. two arrived and my world turned upside down. GG, my Swan (Syndromes without a Name) remains a conundrum to this day, undiagnosed and nearly 7 years old. Suddenly the tried and tested return to work plan became a mountain to climb.
However, I did it and my employer worked through it with me. 7 years in and I remain in a demanding role, I am valued by the organisation and I manage my caring responsibilities. (I will also point out here that I have a husband, he too does his share, so don’t assume that only mum takes the responsibility).
So how did we, my employer and I, make it work? The answer is flexibility on both sides. I will be totally honest about it, childcare with a disabled child is a nightmare but it is not impossible, hospital appointments are a norm, we have daily therapies to fit in at home, we have to spend more time in school settings than with mainstream children and sometimes our children are hospitalised, and we are unavailable for a period of time. This is the time when we need you most.
I accept this means that you cannot give us sole responsibility for a job that needs a high level of presence. It needs you to think differently. In my role, it works well to have a strong deputy, ready to step in as needed – investing in another employee’s development whilst ensuring business continuity, a win-win situation. I have settled into a working pattern of 3 days a week which allows me to flex my days according to appointments and meetings, but ensuring I have chance in my week to deliver my job to a high standard and with cover in place when I am not there. In reality I am almost always there remotely, frequently taking a quick call or managing emails on a non-working day.
I recognise that I am asking for a lot from an employer and whilst I know I am fortunate to be supported, it is my employer who says they are the lucky ones. I have worked my socks off to demonstrate that I am 100% committed and can make this work. My manager describes me as highly productive, I have no time at home or at work to dither, I get the job done efficiently. Being a carer has taught me a whole host of new skills. A situation that would previously have me in a panic, I deal with in a calm and pragmatic way. When you have watched your child have a seizure, nothing work wise will phase me.
My planning, organisation and negotiation skills have been enhanced beyond recognition – negotiating the early years of the special needs system and the NHS is tough and makes us carers resilient and persistent. I have learnt skills I did not ever consider I would need. I can use sign language, I am a physiotherapist, speech therapist, campaigner, advocate for my child – all of these skills I learnt on my own and fast. Nothing my employer throws at me will phase me, I will find a way to make it happen.
The CV of a carer applying for a job may not be typical of the experience you are looking for but please think beyond the ‘job title’ and look at the skills they have to offer.
I am not alone in being a working carer. My organisation is not the only one to successfully employ carers. However we do remain a minority. Every day I hear carers who are desperate to get back to work – will you give them a chance? I hope so.
