It's a particularly intense time for many parents and caregivers who are working from home, homeschooling, caring for family and friends, and more. It can be even more challenging for caregivers of those managing a mental health condition or disability.
Mind Share Partners has compiled the following list of resources HR and People teams to support parents and caregivers, and individual resources for these employees.
I. Articles for HR & People Leaders Supporting Parents and Caregivers
[Article] “How HR Teams Can Support Working Parents,” Lattice A 4-item listicle outlining basic strategies to support parents (most applicable to caregiving generally).
[Report] “A Guide to Balancing Work and Caregiving Obligations” Canadian Human Rights Commission While it addresses Canada specifically, the guide outlines helpful strategies on how to talk to an employee about caregiving needs, strategies to support caregivers and ideas for flexible working arrangements, and a follow-up process to ensure that any arrangement continues to be helpful and effective.
[Article] “Caregiving,” American Psychiatric Association This page outlines best practices and strategies to support caregivers of those managing a mental health condition based on a study of 17 employers including Aetna, CBS Corporation, Intel, and more.
[Article] “More Workers Than You Realize Are Caregivers,” SHRM This page provides an overview of the prevalence of caregiving/caregivers in the workforce, how it impacts employee work-life balance and starting strategies to better support caregivers in your workforce.
[Slide Deck] “Negotiating Accommodations at the Workplace: Perspectives of Human Resource Professionals and Parents of Children with Mental Health Disorders,” Portland State University School of Social Work This slide deck outlines key topics for supporting caregivers of children with mental health condition/s, such as work flexibility, navigating disclosure, stigma, and more. It also provides enlightening quotes by parents and HR professionals on their own experiences with navigating caregiving conversations, employee performance, and workplace supports.
[Report] “For the Benefit of All: How Organizations Win When They Recognize and Support Caregivers and Employees with Disabilities” Voya Financial, Inc. This report shares key survey findings that cover the impact of caregiving on employee behavior, wellbeing, and productivity (p.5) as well as a variety of policy-, benefit-, and culture-related strategies to support them (p.9).
[Report] “Taking Care of Caregivers: Why corporate America should support employees who give their hearts and souls to those in need.” Cariloop, Facebook, and Chicken Soup for the Soul This 2018 report outlines national trends around caregiving and key strategies for supporting caregivers in the workplace.
II. Articles for Working Parents & Caregivers
[Article] “Self-Care for Parents of Children with Mental Health Needs,” Nationwide Children's: A list article of best practices for parents and caregivers to support their own mental health.
Article] “Managing Transitions,” The Psychology Foundation of Canada: Daily transitions can be stressful for working parents and their children. One of the toughest of all transitions is “up and out” in the morning. Here are some tips that may be helpful.
[Article] “Letter To Working Mothers: Stop Feeling So Guilty,” Forbes: An open letter to working mom's who feel guilty that work is stopping them from doing enough, giving enough and being enough for their kids.
[Article] “Supporting Kids Through the COVID-19 Crisis,” Childmind.org: Tips for nurturing and protecting children at home.
[Article] "How To Ask What Kids Are Feeling," Childmind.org: Ways to get insight into how your kids are handling stressful times.
[Article] Taking Care of Yourself NAMI Suggestions for personalizing your self-care strategy as a parent/caregiver.
[Article] "7 Online Support Groups for Parents During COVID-19 Pandemic," Parents.com: Looking to connect with parents going through the pandemic just like you? These online support groups can be just the place to vent, get or give advice, or simply know you're not in this alone.
III. Organizations and Resources for Parents and Caregivers
[Organization] Family Caregiver Alliance The mission of Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) is to improve the quality of life for family caregivers and the people who receive their care.
[Organization] National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health The National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health is a s a national family-run organization focused on the issues of children and youth with emotional, behavioral, or mental health needs and their families.
[Organization] Child Mind Institute The Child Mind Institute is committed to finding effective treatments for childhood psychiatric and learning disorders, building the science of healthy brain development, and empowering children and their families with help, hope, and answers.
[Organization] NAMI Family Support Group NAMI Family Support Group is a peer-led support group for any adult with a loved one who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition.
IV. Resources for Mental Health ERGs (or Affinity Groups)
Mind Share Partners has created resources for employee resource groups (ERGs) focused on mental health, neurodiversity, ability, etc. These resources include:
[Toolkit] "How to Create a Mental Health ERG" Toolkit, Mind Share Partners
[Article] "How to Form a Mental Health Employee Resource Group," Harvard Business Review
[Resource] Virtual Community for Mental Health ERGs, Mind Share Partners A free Slack community and ongoing resources for leaders of mental health ERGs from over 60+ companies.
V. Covid-19 Mental Health Resources For Businesses and Leadership
[Toolkit] "Supporting Employee Mental Health During The Coronavirus Pandemic"
This visual guide outlines action-oriented tips and company examples to help managers and leaders support employee mental health during this time. The guide can be shared with leaders and managers directly or as a presentation to teams.
[Resource] Mind Share Partners' Virtual Mental Health Training & Advising
All of our workplace mental health training and advising solutions equip leaders, managers, and teams with the knowledge and skills to create a culture for workplace mental health.
All trainings will be tailored to the current working atmosphere and contextualized to COVID-19. During this time, we are happy to modify all solutions to a virtual format.