Our 2024 webinars are starting to come to an end with our second to last Balancing Work & Cancer webinar of the year held on November 6th. We recognized National Family Caregivers Month with a webinar on Balancing Work & Caregiving led by CAC's assistant director of programs Nicole Jarvis who was joined by Brandon Gottlieb, Director, Talent Advisor, at the largest nonprofit health plan in New York State as well as one of CAC's volunteer career coaches.

Nicole and Brandon walked us through the steps a caregiver will want to take to making an action plan including asking yourself key questions like:

• What are your loved ones needs? 
• What are your needs and wants?
• Will you experience a financial impact related to caregiving?
• How will your caregiving responsibilities impact your work-life?
• How is your identity connected to work?
• Have your career priorities changed?
• How will you make time for/prioritize self-care?
• What are the other personal/family obligations that need to be prioritized?

The next step in the process would be to gather information which includes:

• Get guidance from your loved one’s healthcare team (Treatment protocols, How side effects/recovery may affect your loved one's ability to function)
• Research policies & benefits related to your job, before you disclose to anyone at work (Leave policies, remote work options, scheduling flexibility, etc)
• Find out if you qualify for workplace protections under federal or state law (Such as the FMLA)

After you've gathered information, you'll want to get organized. This step in the process involves:

• Keep all paperwork and important documents in one place
• Write down questions/concerns/thoughts of  the person you’re caring for to help them remember what they’d like to discuss with their healthcare team.
• Take notes during important conversations, with medical professionals, employers, etc. 

And finally, creating an actual action plan. A successful action plan:

• Addresses your unique needs and goals  as both a person and a caregiver
• Is prioritized but flexible
• Takes into account your employer needs as well as your loved one’s/your own
• Includes asking for help (where you are comfortable)
• Is written out

Nicole and Brandon also discussed consideration for disclosure and communicating effectively at work, which are both essential to successfully balancing work and caregiving responsibilities. Be sure to check the Caregiver section of our website for more resources. For a full archived recording of the session, click here.

And we hope you'll join us for the final webinar of 2024 which will be Self-Care: Practical Approaches at Work and Beyond on Wednesday, December 4th at 1pm ET/10am PT.