• As many as one in ten employees were caring for older adults in an informal capacity and commonly looked after mothers, mothers-in-law or fathers.
• Many carers had multiple caring roles and were juggling work with caring for both adults and children. However, there was a lack of openness and a silence about elder care in comparison with childcare.
• Very few carers lived with the people they cared for, although one in three lived within a ten minute drive. Two out of three carers spent under 10 hours per week looking after others. Help with shopping and transport, giving emotional support and checking up on people, were the most commonly performed tasks. Few working carers provided very 'heavy' personal or physical care.
• Managers were aware that working carers often did not know what was available to them, and that access to policies and benefits depended on the grade and nature of individual jobs.
• Managers found knowledge of their staff's caring and work histories particularly helpful when implementing policy.
• Very few of the designated family-friendly policies in these organisations were used routinely. Carers tended to use policies that did not publicly identify them as in need of help, such as annual leave.
• Managerial discretion and flexibility were of particular help to carers, together with having earned the trust of their manager.
• Carers were highly committed to their jobs but inflexible work schedules and the pressures of the job made juggling competing responsibilities difficult.
• The 'long hours' culture in both organisations, combined with a belief that people need to be 'seen to be coping', helped create a climate which worked against carers asking for help.

Managers acknowledged that the development of family-friendly policies was good employment practice; they defined it in terms of 'balancing' the conflicting demands of work and home life. Carers perceived work-life issues as a more complex 'juggling' act between the competing demands on their time and energy that requires a range of both formal and informal supports.

Managers communicated the existence of policies to staff through a variety of channels but were also aware that working carers often did not know what options were available until they needed to use them. However, access was often conditional on what level the individual was in the organisation, the type of job they did and the nature of their work.

In times of crisis, and for regular caring responsibilities, people tended to make most use of familiar and easy to access policies: annual leave and time off in lieu were clear examples. In contrast, employees were wary of using counselling and carers' leave because they feared being labelled as in need of help. Also, policies specifically designed with carers in mind were often difficult to access.

203 working carers completed a longer questionnaire. Two out of three were working full-time. The majority were very committed to their work, saying it was important for their own self-esteem and identity.

In terms of informal caring responsibilities, most were caring for one older adult. These were most commonly mothers, followed by mothers-in-law or fathers. Two out of five said they were the primary carer. Very few lived with the people they cared for although one in three lived close by (within ten minutes). Two out of three spent under 10 hours per week looking after their care recipient(s). Helping with shopping and transport, giving emotional support and checking on the care recipient(s) were the most common tasks. Few carers provided very 'heavy' personal or physical care and few made extensive use of formal support services.

The demands of working and caring were felt most forcefully on family life and carers' own health, rather than on work. A majority of carers said they used annual leave to accommodate caring responsibilities. Some chose to forego the 'rewards' of work, such as further training or seeking promotion, rather than let their caring responsibilities interfere more severely. Carers coped primarily by using their own professional expertise and experience, talking with others, and ensuring they had time for interests beyond caring.

• Unhelpful attitudes of family - could be very difficult for carers to cope with.
  
• Distance dilemmas - the amount of travelling involved was problematic for some carers.
  
• Multiple demands - juggling care of an older adult with other family responsibilities (for children, grandchildren etc), as well as with work, could be very demanding.
  
• Work and workload pressures - inflexible work schedules and the pressures of the job were hindrances to juggling competing demands and responsibilities.
  
• Unsupportive managers and colleagues - were seen as a hindrance by managers themselves; carers were more inclined to say that managers and colleagues might 'make things difficult' rather than directly refusing to help.
  
• Staff overload and health concerns - carers were finding it increasingly difficult simply to keep up-to-date with the latest policies and guidance on family-friendly issues as well as being concerned about the effects of working and caring on their own health.
  
• Organisational pressures and culture - the 'long hours' culture, combined with a belief that people need to be 'seen to be coping', worked against carers revealing details about their situations or asking for help.

• A different kind of care - The study highlights some of the differences between the care of older people and childcare: notably the difficulties of disclosing and talking about such responsibilities to managers; the unpredictability of elder care in terms of time commitment; and the considerable distances travelled by some carers. Juggling work and care can be extremely difficult, given that most carers are married, have demanding jobs and are often balancing multiple responsibilities, including care of dependent children (and sometimes grandchildren). This suggests that in some cases training for managers, better communication channels and cultural change is required.
   
• A 'whole system' approach? In developing a 'whole system' approach, there is a balance to be struck between generalised solutions (which are more common in the childcare arena) and the more customised, tailor-made solutions which might be needed to address the very diverse needs of working carers of older adults. However, a sharing of ideas and practices between childcare and eldercare - such as the day care vouchers co-funded by government and employers - could also be useful. Moreover, the approach adopted by the DTI and the Work and Parents Taskforce has something to offer working carers of older adults because it gives employees a right to ask for flexibility, and places a duty on employers to give their request serious consideration.
  
• Practical responses - Managers wanted informality and flexibility, but within clearer structures. They would like regular monitoring and reviews of policies and practices, an assessment of the 'fairness' or not with which these are being applied to staff, and stern repercussions for those who abuse the system but with the right to appeal. There is also a need for greater sharing of information across departments and between managers. Overt discussion and exploration of the differences between managers may help raise awareness of carers' needs and lead to more sensitive responses.

Few carers in the study had extensive networks of services and benefits they could call upon for support, but would particularly welcome access to personal home care. Other practical suggestions revolve around the provision of advice and information about what is available in the workplace and the wider community, training and awareness-raising, better induction materials and regular updating of policy and information. Developing telephone help lines, putting carers in touch with each other, and introducing them to carers' networks were some of the other practical suggestions made by managers and working carers. More flexible interpretation of compassionate leave, a framework and ethos that allow working at and from home, time off with pay, and counselling services, were advocated as well. There is also a role for trade unions in information giving, creating a sense of entitlement and a culture of understanding.