8 ways "sandwich generation" workers can battle burnout | Grads of 2 colleges eligible for air traffic jobs | Want to become a better leader? Take a walk
Social worker Dorothy Miller coined the term "sandwich generation" in the 1980s to depict the challenges people face when they are simultaneously parenting their children and handling caregiving duties for their parents. Employees who fall into this category -- primarily Gen X and millennials -- tend to suffer from burnout owing to the heavy emotional and financial burdens they carry. This article offers eight ways to help these individuals manage their stress levels, including confronting the "stuck" narrative and working with volunteer organizations that can offer support.
The Federal Aviation Administration has announced that graduates from two college programs at Tulsa Community College and the University of Oklahoma can directly proceed to facility training for air traffic control, bypassing the previously mandatory FAA Air Traffic Controller Academy. This move aims to ease the air traffic controller shortages that are causing flight delays and overworking current staff, requiring many to endure six-day workweeks.
Building a benefit-literate workforce is an important factor in employee satisfaction and retention. Off-cycle education, which involves regular focused sessions outside the typical open enrollment period, can bridge the gap between benefit awareness and utilization, experts say.
Gaming can significantly benefit your career, with studies showing that people who played video games as children are more likely to have recently received promotions and typically earn higher salaries. According to Prodigy, gaming enhances stress relief, technological literacy and problem-solving skills, while a Brigham Young University study found that coworkers who gamed together boosted their productivity by 20%.
HR leaders should prepare for political disagreements in the workplace before and after Election Day by taking a neutral view, explaining policies about proper conduct at work, offering remote-work options for overwhelmed employees and sharing information about counseling services and employee assistance groups, executives say. "The risk in these polarized times is that political discourse may quickly devolve into discriminatory or harassing behavior that violates both employer policies and federal, state and local law," says Alice Jump, a partner at the Reavis Page Jump law firm.
When Dad was battling his illness last year, my brother, sister and I came together to outline a plan for supporting our parents. Mom was his primary caregiver (he wouldn’t let anyone do it), so we did what we could to help her manage the house. My siblings flew to Kona often to take care of chores and tasks. I reached out from California. And when Dad passed last summer, we got together again to revise our support plan so Mom would have everything she needed as she walked into this new chapter of Life.
We are glad to do it. We love her and we wouldn’t want anyone else tending to her.
But there’s no question that it’s been hard and stressful sometimes. So I could relate to today’s top story about the “sandwich generation.” My siblings and I are Gen Xers, with careers, families and heavy responsibilities. It’s a careful juggling act -- and sometimes it feels like we’ve been hit on the head by a rogue pin -- but we’re learning and making it work.
You likely have staffers in this “sandwich generation.” They’re living a Whack-a-Mole existence and may not be able to see a way out. The tactics in this story are good and could help them strike a healthy balance.
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