This article was previously published by CareerWise and is reprinted with permission.

The fastest-growing workplace identity group is “caregiver,” according to a recent survey by workplace equity platform Syndio, with 73% of the U.S. workforce having some type of current caregiving responsibility.

Canada is no exception.

One in four Canadians, excluding parents, identifies as a caregiver – a figure that is projected to rise to 50% of Canadians in the future. Additionally, 58% of Canadian families include children (2021 Census). With an aging population, employees with unpaid care responsibilities are a growing cohort of the Canadian workforce, “poised to become a dominant issue for employers.”

We also know that unpaid care is provided disproportionately by women, whether for children, people with disabilities or the elderly. A pre-pandemic 2018 Stats Canada survey reported: “Women account for almost two-thirds of caregivers providing 20 or more hours of [informal, unpaid] care per week.” This results in them more likely to turn down opportunities, promotions or restrict their working hours.

A November 2022 whitepaper by the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence (CCCE) stated the obvious: “[unpaid] caregiving means taking time away from paid work.” And of course, new parents – mostly mothers – usually take parental leave and may need to step out of the workforce for a much longer period to provide unpaid childcare until coveted daycare spots become available. Parents of older, school-aged children must plan for afternoon school pickup, sacrificing wages to fund expensive and hard-to-find after-care, or taking time away from paid work to provide unpaid care themselves.

For parents and caregivers to be gainfully employed – and for employers to tap into this underutilized talent pool – a shift is needed to create “ideal workplaces” that normalize caregiver identities and prioritize flexibility.

This call for a shift toward workplaces designed with a default caregiver identity in mind (flexible work policy) is part of a growing conversation from advocates such as Sami Unrau of Nike, who says it bluntly: “[We] don’t solve macro level needs with accommodations … We solve macro level needs by resetting the default way of working.”

The problematic framing of caregivers as people who need to be “accommodated” in the workplace comes up even in progressive work aiming to support these individuals in the workplace. For instance, a July 2022 report by Carers Canada explores “help[ing] organizations create flexible and accommodating workplaces that meet the need of individuals balancing paid work and unpaid caregiving responsibilities.” An “ideal workplace” would move beyond accommodations and would instead create culture and policy assuming a default caregiver identity across the board.

The lasting harm of the ‘ideal worker norm’

Before defining what is meant by a flexible “ideal workplace” that centres caregiver identities as default, we must examine the “ideal worker norm” that it replaces.

The “ideal worker norm,” described by law professor Joan Williams in her 1999 book Unbending Gender, is characterized by full-time commitment, continuous availability, uninterrupted career focus, steady career path and lack of personal responsibilities. This picture essentially outlines a 50’s “breadwinner” who can focus on work without distractions or competing responsibilities (like family caregiving duties).

Right now, mothers and caregivers experience maternal bias and caregiver bias in hiring, recruitment and workplace culture because the “ideal worker norm” is a pervasive, often subconscious expectation; the workplace is not designed for those with care responsibilities.

The cost of inaction

If employers do not accept that a majority caregiver-employee base is imminent and design workplaces around this fact, they risk losing talented workers. According to Canadian employee health insurance start-up, SimplyBenefits, it costs:

• Between 30% and 50% of an entry-level employee’s annual salary to replace them
• 150% or more for a mid-level employee
• 400% for a high-level or highly specialized employee

Aside from replacement cost, turnover lowers morale and decreases productivity.

It’s always cost-effective to retain good talent. So, what do employers need to do to create a carer-as-default culture and not only unlock huge savings with retention, but explore an untapped labour supply that is readily available – just perhaps not for full-time/consecutive hours?

Flexibility: A new way forward

Research from Ideas42 concludes that new “ideal workplace standards” are needed to uproot the dated “ideal worker norm” and address workplace gender inequity. The standards they propose are behavioural science-based strategies for employers to implement in their workplaces relating to hiring and recruitment, scheduling and promotions.

The ideal workplace embraces flexibility in all its forms, so that the norm is no longer commitment to work above all else; rather, it encourages work-life integration to avoid burnout, turnover and low morale. A healthy and supported workforce will be more productive.

Flexibility can mean any or all of the following:

• Non-consecutive hours
• Part-time / reduced hours
• Compressed work week (4-days/week)
• Remote work (work-from-home)
• Hybrid work (a combination of in-person and remote)
• Job sharing
• Banked hours
• Gradual retirement
• Leaves/sabbaticals

A Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) study found that job adverts offering flexible working received up to 30% more applicants. Another BIT study found advertising part-time working options in job adverts attracted 16% more female applicants and saw a 19.3% increase of female applicants to senior positions. These results are not surprising, given the disproportionate amount of time women spend on unpaid caregiving.

Unfortunately, there is a strong cultural belief that flexible work is for moms who are perceived to be less committed to their jobs. This couldn’t be further than the truth. In fact, new survey data from human resources firm Robert Half show flexibility was prioritized over compensation by six in 10 Canadian workers. Flexibility is not a “mom thing.” Nor is it a trend. It’s a reflection of our labour force landscape in Canada, demonstrating the need for flex work in order to balance competing priorities and care duties.

A win for caregivers is a win for all

The entrenched but outdated “ideal worker norm” would have us believe that caregiver and parent employees are a liability rather than an asset (Weisshaar, 2018). This line of thinking needs to be retired – for good. Caregiver employees are not only good talent, but will soon represent over half of the Canadian labour force.

When workplaces recognize this reality, we all reap the benefits:

• For employers: reduced burnout/turnover, positive team morale, employee satisfaction, and increased productivity
• For caregiver/all employees: freedom to arrange work and life with less stress by taking on flexible hours, job shares or a part-time paid role that easily integrates unpaid care work = mental health and wellness boost

While flexibility can offer robust benefits to caregivers and help break down gendered care norms among parents, this shouldn’t be sold as simply a perk for certain employees. Flexible policies benefit everyone, across the board.

Centring flexibility in a new vision of the “ideal workplace” will advance gender equity, reduce labour shortages, bolster employee retention, promote well-being and increase productivity.