The ‘sandwich generation’ moniker, created in the early 1980s, was used by social workers and gerontologists to describe people in the workforce who were caring for both their elderly parents and children at the same time. Today, 66 per cent of sandwich generation staff surveyed report that their familial obligations impact their jobs and job prospects. For these employees, this type of dual caregiving is costly, time-consuming, and exhausting. Employers who want to support their sandwich generation staff must learn how their related policies and accommodations will impact payroll, flex time, unpaid time off, benefits, and more.


Key ingredients that built the sandwich generation

Birth trends create demographic and cultural phenomena we are unaware of until decades later, as they unfold as a series of unique opportunities or challenges.

As of 2023, Canada's senior population (people over 65 years old) has nearly doubled to 19.3 percent of the country's population, and by 2046, that number will reach 25 percent. The modern sandwich generation has children later in life, with the mean age of Canadian mothers shifting from their mid-twenties to their early thirties over the past three decades. This means that they are sandwiched in their thirties through their fifties, directly corresponding with their prime earning years. Additionally, while many people from previous generations have enjoyed the benefit of childcare support from their grandparents, this generation does not, and has the added responsibility of caring for their aging parents.

How will the needs of the sandwich generation impact the workplace?

Anticipating what employees need, or will need down the road, can be tricky. However, it can start with asking staff what they need and making accommodations as allowed by your workplace policies.

Accommodations for sandwich generation staff members can include:

  • Family caregiver/family status leave
  • Reduced workload
  • More frequent breaks
  • Part-time employment
  • Remote work/hybrid work schedules
  • Flexible hours

What can HCM leadership do to help?

While caring for aging parents or children can be stressful, caring for both at the same time can be overwhelming. Flexibility and understanding are the cornerstones of supporting any staff with caregiving, medical, or personal needs. Human Capital Management (HCM) employees are key to evaluating time tracking systems and ensuring that people get paid accurately, on time, and receive their benefits as needed.

Jonathan Carter, CPA, CMA, CPB, Founder and Principal Accountant of KATA Accounting Solutions Professional Corporation told HCM Dialogue, "As a small business, we care greatly for our people. If we don't take care of them, they won't take care of our clients. It is important to determine how you will treat an employee in the case of a true leave of absence, either to be a caregiver or for other reasons, such as a medical need or natural disaster."

He stresses the importance of designing, implementing, and reviewing leave of absence and other related policies regularly, as well as discussing these policies as part of the onboarding process. This review includes working with your benefits provider to evaluate ongoing benefits needs for full-time and part-time employees. Carter says that his company's policies are designed around the Ontario Employment Standards Act.

Implementation of remote and flexible policies can also include accountability tools such as Slack and Loom to prevent procrastination and time theft while allowing for asynchronous communication.

Carter adds, "flexibility and the ability to design one's lifestyle [and work arrangements around your life] are becoming more and more important to quality talent," and he is proud to offer these benefits to his team, allowing them to take time to respond to urgent matters without having to use vacation time or unpaid time off. He adds, “our remote work policy requires them to adhere to other policies, such as the Technology Security Policy, but the flexibility of our self-scheduling is more focused on completion of work rather than specific hours working.”

Supporting the sandwich generation in action

Carter provided an example of a team member who spent last summer overseas with their whole family after a health scare with an in-law. While away, this staff member cared for their children as their partner consulted their parents and siblings to arrange for proper care. They worked hours that were conducive to their family responsibilities and were only required to attend certain specific meetings as arranged before departure.

The future of work

Carter concludes, "our employees can work from anywhere they have a secure internet connection, and generally, work the hours that suit them best. By offering such flexibility, we've attracted and, more importantly, retained talent that would otherwise not be available if we focused on a traditional firm model."

While providing his expertise, he also noted that participating in this interview provided some additional ideas for the next time his organization reviews their accommodation policies to meet future and current employee needs best, sandwich generation or otherwise.





Enter some text...

Did you find this article useful?