What is ‘Carenting’ and why should employers support it?
I recently had the pleasure of catching up with ex-colleague Shari Hofer to find out more about her book With Love: A Practical Guide to Caring for Aging Parents Through the End of Life which she has co-written with Shabnam Kazmi - I'm looking forward to welcoming them to the podcast later this year, but in the meantime you can read this interview with Shari in Fast Company of which a small snippet here:
"Eldercare is not a future issue—it is a present reality. For organizations to effectively support a workforce increasingly shaped by caregiving responsibilities, leaders must move beyond awareness and into action.
Three shifts are critical:
1. Normalize transparency around capacity
2. Redefine performance through context, not just output
3. Align culture with practice, not just policy.
Organizations that continue to treat caregiving as an unspoken issue will face rising burnout, disengagement, and talent loss. Those that acknowledge it as a shared reality—and design cultures, expectations, and systems accordingly—will build stronger, more resilient, and more human organizations.
Caregiving does not just change individuals. It is reshaping the workforce. The leaders who understand and act on that will define the next era of leadership."
Opening up the conversation around the realities of juggling caregiving and a career is vital (currently 48 million people are providing unpaid care to adults in the USA).
Here in the UK there are now more people looking after parents than looking after children and the population of adults over 85 set to DOUBLE over the next 15-20 years. Yes, read that again! In the ‘Carents in the Workplace’ study, 71% of respondents reduced hours, changed roles, or left work due to caregiving responsibilities, underscoring the economic and personal impact.
Our new workshop on 'Thriving Through the Midlife Collision' covers:
What is the ‘midlife collision’?
Aging populations, ‘carenting’ and the mental load
Anticipatory grief
Communications, family dynamics, and boundary setting
Putting your own oxygen mask on first (it’s a cliché for a reason!)
Practical advice for negotiating changing responsibilities
Signposting to further help and resources
To find out more about Carenting, listen to my interview with Dr Jackie Gray, Founder of Carents.
To book a workshop on 'Thriving Through the Midlife Collision' please email emma@thetripleshift.org