Sandwich Generation Caregivers
- A segment of caregivers has evolved over the past fifty years known as the "Sandwich Generation" a cohort of middle-aged adults who are sandwiched between care responsibilities for young children and aging parents at the same time.
- Sandwich Generation caregivers are being hammered financially, physically and emotionally.
- Nearly one of eight Americans aged 40 to 60 fall into this cohort.
- The typical Sandwich Generation member is a 48 year old woman.
- She maintains a paying job.
- She spends an average of 20 hours a week providing care for a parent(s).
- These caregivers spend approximately $10,000 and 1,350 hours a year on the care they provide - spending more money on children but more time on aging parents.
- They are experiencing high levels of stress, not only as a result of the incremental financial demands created by the multigenerational care, but because they simply do not have enough time in the day to manage their careers, handle their multitude of household/family responsibilities, and still make time for themselves.
- The 1,350 hours a year committed to caregiving translates to roughly 26 hours a week; that's a huge drain on the caregiver who is also holding down a full-time job.
- 62% of all employed caregivers say they must make some sort of workplace accommodation, such as leaving early, taking a leave-of-absence or dropping back to part-time.
- There is probably no cohort that would benefit more from the kind of help the senior home care industry can provide.
Info drawn from the Pew Research Center and MetLife
