Almost one in five UK adults now juggles paid work alongside caring for an older parent or partner, and a fresh report from HR Magazine has put a sharp spotlight on the support they actually need. For families across Chesterfield, Bolsover and the wider East Midlands, the findings are a welcome reminder that no one should have to choose between their career and looking after the person they love. In this post, we unpack what the research means in everyday terms, and how regular professional home care visits can take the pressure off when you're trying to do both.
The hidden workforce behind the workforce
Working carers have long been described as Britain's "hidden workforce" — the millions of people who clock off from one job at five and clock straight on to another at home. The HR Magazine report draws together findings from Carers UK, the CIPD and several large employers, and the headline message is striking: the number of employees with caring responsibilities is rising sharply, partly because we're all living longer and partly because NHS and social care waiting lists are pushing more day-to-day care back onto families.
What's new in the research isn't the scale of the challenge — most of us already know someone trying to balance a job with looking after a relative. It's the honest picture of what working carers actually need. Flexibility comes top of the list, closely followed by understanding line managers, paid carers' leave, and crucially, reliable practical help at home so that work hours can genuinely be work hours.
Why this matters for families in the East Midlands
Here in North East Derbyshire we see the report's findings reflected in the families we visit every week. A daughter in Chesterfield who works at the hospital and pops in to her mum on Walton Road three times a day. A son in Bolsover commuting to Sheffield while quietly worrying whether his father has eaten lunch. A couple in Worksop both working shifts, trying to coordinate who'll be at home when grandma needs her tablets.
The East Midlands has an older-than-average population in many of its towns and villages, and our local economy still depends heavily on shift work, manufacturing, healthcare and logistics — sectors where slipping out for an hour at lunchtime to help a parent simply isn't an option. The result is the very pattern the report describes: tired carers, missed promotions, unused holiday spent on hospital appointments, and a slow, gnawing sense of guilt that you're letting somebody down whichever way you turn.
What does meaningful support actually look like?
One of the most useful things about the HR Magazine piece is that it moves the conversation on from sympathy to specifics. The carers surveyed didn't just want kind words from their employer — they wanted concrete arrangements that took the daily pressure off. The four that came up again and again were:
Reliable cover at predictable times. Knowing that someone trustworthy will be with mum at 8am, lunchtime and teatime means a working carer can plan their day rather than living in a state of low-level panic.
Permission to talk about it openly at work. Carers who felt able to tell their manager what was going on were far less likely to leave their job altogether.
Help with the practical, repetitive tasks. Medication prompts, personal care, a hot meal, a bit of housework, a friendly chat — the things that, done consistently, keep an older person safe and well at home.
A bit of breathing space. Time to be a son or daughter again, rather than only ever a carer.
Where regular home care visits fit in
This is exactly where domiciliary care earns its keep. A planned pattern of visits from a familiar team of carers takes the bits of the day that are hardest to cover — the early mornings, the lunchtime medication, the evening routine — and turns them into something you no longer have to engineer around your shifts.
For a working son or daughter, that might mean a 7.30am call so mum is up, dressed and has had her breakfast before you leave for work. A midday visit to make a proper lunch and check she's taken her tablets. A tea-time visit so you're not racing home from Mansfield in rush hour with your stomach in knots. And a settled evening, knowing the day has been well looked after.
It isn't about replacing what families do — it's about sharing the load so the bits you do together stay the lovely bits: the cup of tea on a Sunday, the trip to the garden centre, the proper catch-up rather than a hurried medication round.
Practical steps if you're juggling work and caring
If the report rings true for your own situation, a few small actions can make a real difference:
Have the conversation at work. Many employers now have carers' policies tucked away in their handbook. Ask. You may be entitled to unpaid carer's leave, flexible hours, or a quiet adjustment to your shift pattern.
Map a typical week honestly. Write down every caring task you currently do and when. You'll quickly see which bits absolutely need you, and which could be covered by a regular carer.
Talk to your local council. A Carer's Assessment from Derbyshire County Council or Nottinghamshire County Council is free, and can unlock support you may not realise you're entitled to.
Start small with home care. You don't have to leap to round-the-clock cover. Even two or three short visits a week can transform a working carer's stress levels — and give your relative a bit of cheerful company into the bargain.
A local team that understands the balancing act
At The Right Home Care Team we look after older people right across North East Derbyshire, from Chesterfield and Bolsover out to the villages and over towards Worksop and Mansfield. A great many of the families we work with are juggling jobs, grandchildren and their own health alongside caring for a parent — and our visits are designed around exactly that reality.
Our carers turn up when they say they will, know your loved one by name, and feed back to you honestly about how the day has gone. That consistency is what allows a working carer to close the laptop in the evening and genuinely switch off, rather than spending the night worrying about whether the back door was locked.
If you'd like a quiet chat
If the HR Magazine findings sound uncomfortably familiar — if you're stretched thinly between a job and a much-loved parent — we'd be glad to talk things through with no obligation at all. Sometimes a half-hour conversation about what a week of visits might look like is enough to lift a weight you've been carrying for months. Give us a ring or drop us a message whenever the moment feels right; we'll listen first, and only suggest support that genuinely fits your family.
