Disrupting Elder Care: We Need To Talk More About Working Daughters

Bossed Up

How do you balance caring for your aging parents and your career without burning out? We organize so much in our lives, from our workdays to our childcare. The care of our aging parents or other loved ones, however, can blindside the best of us. When this responsibility suddenly falls into your lap while you’re in the thick of leveling up your career, staying on top of daily expectations, and maybe even raising young children, what do you do?

Liz O’Donnell was faced with this situation, and after more than a decade in the field, she is a recognized expert on working while caregiving. She is the founder of Working Daughters, which supports women balancing elder care on top of their careers and all the other demands of adult life, and the author of Working Daughter: A Guide to Care for Your Aging Parents While Making a Living. In this episode, she shares her wealth of knowledge about navigating elder care without losing yourself.

Discover what to expect if you find yourself caring for an aging loved one, including:

• Why we aren’t talking more about this widespread issue;
• Where policy and workplace elder care support are lacking and how they could improve;
• How to integrate elder care into your life with compassion for yourself;
• Why a post-caregiving plan can give you back a sense of control and purpose.

Related Links:

• Connect with Liz on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz3point0/
• Find resources on Working Daughter.com - https://workingdaughter.com/
• Implement the Caregiving Basics - https://workingdaughter.com/caregiving-basics/
• Order “Working Daughter: A Guide to Care for Your Aging Parents While Making a Living” - https://workingdaughter.com/book-2/
• U.S. Department of Labor, “Older Women and Unpaid Caregiving in the U.S.” - https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WB/WBIssueBrief-OlderWomenAndUnpaidCaregiving.pdf
• Deloitte “Women @ Work 2024” Study - https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/assets-shared/docs/collections/2024/deloitte-women-at-work-2024-a-global-outlook.pdf?dl=1
• “The Crisis Facing America's Working Daughters” by Liz O’Donnell - https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/02/working-daughters-eldercare/459249/
• The Wall Street Journal, “When Caring for Your Parents Comes at a Cost to Your Career” - https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/elder-care-parents-workers-e1fa53f9?mod=world_whatsnews_pos3
• The Working Daughter Bill of Rights - https://workingdaughter.com/working-daughter-bill-rights/
• Episode 466, How Gen X Navigates Career Change - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode466
• McKinsey & Co. Women in the Workplace Report - https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace
• Level Up: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/