I read an interesting article on Friday with the headline: “Global study reveals ‘caregiver’ as the job title people most want to ‘escape’.“
When I read the article, I wondered if those doing the global search misunderstood the term “caregiver” to simply mean a direct care professional. Often, the term “caregiver” is also used to describe family members who provide care.
According to the article:
Profit Engine, an SEO agency, analysed global search data to identify which job titles appear most frequently in quit-related searches. The study examined search volumes for terms combining specific job titles with quit-intent phrases like “burnout,” “leaving,” and “stress.”
Direct care workers could be using these search terms. They want to quit because they don’t get paid enough, work long hours, don’t have upward mobility within their career path, perform back-breaking tasks and may not receive the appreciation they want.
Family caregivers could be using these search terms. They want an out from the worries, the never-ending days, the 365-days-a-year responsibilities, the challenge of finding help that helps, the rigors of managing 19 Caregiving Systems and the heartbreak from an experience full of sadness, declines and loneliness.
Those analyzing the search terms probably didn’t have the insight to understand that the term “caregiver” is often applied to professional and family caregivers and that both responsibilities include lots of burnout and stress. (Words we use matter, which is why I suggest we use the term non-reimbursed family caregivers rather than unpaid family caregivers or informal family caregivers.)
Could this analysis uncover an insight about the family caregiver experience by accident??
We all have moments when we want to leave the responsibilities, walk out and just keep walking. During those moments, do we start an online search for an idea or strategy or insight that helps us feel better?
Perhaps this analysis shows how often family caregivers search for help because they can’t leave and, yet, it’s so hard to stay.
The analysis also highlights the importance of using terms that differentiate the two experiences. When direct care workers search for help, they need to find solutions for their work situation. When non-reimbursed family caregivers search for help, they need to find solutions for their emotional overwhelm, systems fatigue and worries.
(All family caregivers, regardless of whether they receive payment from a program or a family member, are non-reimbursed. The systems don’t reimburse family caregivers for being an integral, critical part of the systems.)
I think the analysis also shows how little we help and support both direct care workers and family caregivers. We have yet to create programs and services that positively impact both direct care workers and family caregivers so they feel they can stay.
When you feel overwhelmed and stressed, how often do you go online to search for help?
Resources
- Receive a free coaching session during our special event, Coaching for Family Caregivers, on January 31.
- Release the weight of a story you carry in your heart during our next Caregiving Listener Project on February 21.
