Meeting carers where they work to offer support and guidance to not only them, but their employer, is the purpose of Different Journeys’ new program, Care@Work.
Identifying that the greatest gap is support for unpaid carers, across all caring domains, has meant they either don’t have the choice to work or are working and struggling in silence.
Different Journeys chief executive officer Mel Spencer OAM said between appointments, engaging with government services, and potentially being interrupted at work to pick up a child from school, it can mean work is the first thing to fall.
“(They feel) shame of disclosing to work colleagues about what’s going on at home in their caring roles, they won’t tell anyone, because they think it’s going to impact them for promotion. They think it’s going to impact them, even with keeping their jobs,” she said.
“I want to change the landscape, to make it supportive, for an employer to become an employer of choice and to recognise all of the soft skills carers bring to the workplace, like empathy, emotional intelligence, resilience, time management, self-reliance, adaptability and flexibility.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates nearly 12 per cent, or one in eight people, are unpaid carers.
After trialling Care@Work at both the State Library Victoria and a rural health service, it confirmed much of what Different Journeys knew and understood to be true.
“Loneliness for the average Australian is about 15 per cent, and for unpaid carers, it’s 40 per cent,” Ms Spencer said.
“We had these carers coming in to these focus groups that we were running, and one person was in tears and said, ‘I didn’t know there was another carer in the building’.
“So it’s that sense of connection and belonging that an employer can help create. It’s a sense of being able to brainstorm together.”
Ms Spencer said for the most part, the initiatives Different Journeys help implement are relatively simple.
The program helped the State Library add a new intranet page specifically for carers to find tailored resources. A Bendigo business now includes an ‘Are you a carer?’ question on its registration form, providing those employees with two extra employee assistance program (EAP) sessions.
Some workplaces, Ms Spencer said, might be able to shift to a task-driven approach rather than the typical Monday to Friday to allow carers to work the hours when they can.
“What we’re hoping to do is come in and work with businesses, get them to identify carers in the workplace first and foremost, and it can be tailored to be as big or as small as you want.
“It could just be us coming in and hosting a carers cuppa in the workplace. Or it could be that we do surveys, focus groups, training and recommendations and look at policies.
“We don’t have a one-size-fits-all, and that’s quite deliberate, because everyone, every business is different, and it’s about adapting to the needs of those specific businesses.”
Ms Spencer said when it comes to most policies, like diversity and inclusion, and equality, they’re not always framed through an unpaid carer lens, especially when 70 per cent of carers are women.
When carers are supported at work, Ms Spencer said, performance is better, meaning employers don’t have to replace that staff member for one and a half times their salary.
The flow-on effect to the family unit is also significant, potentially alleviating pressure on the primary income earner.
The Different Journeys team all have their lived-experience knowledge to share as well, something Ms Spencer said is incredibly important to give carers in the thick of it a sense of hope that things can change.
It also helps people ask questions and seek advice on NDIS or My Aged Care processes, or applying for a carer’s allowance.
The State Library Victoria is the first business to employ Different Journeys for its Care@Work program.
Financial outlay from businesses to hire the Different Journeys team ensures its work as a charity, supporting people with autism and their families, can continue.
For more information, visit: differentjourneysautism.com or contact Ms Spencer at mel@differentjourneysautism.com
