Appreciating Carers' Skills in the Workplace

Often when we speak about building support for carers in the workplace, most of the points relate to how difficult it can be for carers to juggle work with caring responsibilities; that supporting carers is seen to be good working practice and that doing so may save the employer money. Although these are all good points, recently we have been in more conversations that have centred on highlighting and celebrating the desirable skills that carers have.

There are many skills that people develop through their caring role that transfer well to the workplace. These include, but are not limited to, being more reliable, organised, resourceful and empathetic. Perhaps it is time that employers started acknowledging these traits and actively trying to attract carers to their organisations?