Caregivers Alberta strongly supports caregivers to ensure they have the flexibility they need to balance their work and care responsibilities. This can only be done by fostering and maintaining a work culture that supports caregivers within our organization and by embracing the principles and techniques that establish good care. As an organization focused on caregivers, it is essential that we “walk the talk.” Caregivers Alberta does this in a variety of ways, including offering our employees flexible work hours, wellness time, sick benefits, and a day off on their birthday, along with consistently encouraging work-life balance.

The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated many things, including the fact that working caregivers make up a large part of our society. The rhetoric pertaining to caregiving has markedly changed across the country, including in Alberta, where the economic impact that caregivers bear has been highlighted. As the pandemic has exacerbated the caregiving situation, it is important for caregiver employees to be aware of and recognize their rights. While the last two years have been particularly difficult for caregivers, it has helped raise awareness of what organizations need to do to change their culture internally to adopt employee friendly policies. At Caregivers Alberta we are working to develop work and care programs to encourage organizations to be better employers and to ensure caregiver employees know what they can ask for.

-Sandy Sereda, Executive Director, Caregivers Alberta