Supporting families and carers at IOP Publishing

Every colleague brings different experiences, including caring responsibilities for children, ageing parents, partners or loved ones. To support colleagues balancing work and care, IOP Publishing (IOPP) created the Family and Carers employee resource group (ERG). The group offers a space to share experiences, raise awareness and build community. We spoke to members of the group about the realities of caregiving and the value of knowing they are not alone. Why is the family and carers ERG important to you?

Why is the family and carers ERG important to you?

Juliet Baker, Project Manager: “For me it’s about networking with colleagues who have the same challenges and drive to make a difference. It’s about supporting one another and being able to guide and influence policies and practices”    

Sam Parsons, Senior Application Support Analyst: “It is good to know the group is there with support and advice. And I really appreciate the hard work they have done to improve life at IOPP for us as carers whichever form that takes.”    

Elisa Pappalardo, publisher: “The Family and Carers ERG is important to me as a space where I can get support and advice from colleagues and contribute to driving improvements in policies for parents and carers at IOPP.”    

Peter Mauro, HR Operations Specialist: “I value the opportunity to connect with colleagues who are part of the group, It allows me to hear other’s experiences both similar to and different from my own. Sharing perspectives and gaining feedback from people in comparable situations is particularly helpful to me.”    

Can you tell us a bit about your own experience balancing work and caring responsibilities?    

Juliet Baker: “I’ve had caring responsibilities in one form or another for a long time — first supporting my dad through several health issues from my teenage years on and then caring for my own children while also supporting my mum. Today, my mum is in residential care, and I continue to support her alongside family. So, I guess for much of my career I’ve had the challenge of balancing it all. Unfortunately, I’ve had to make career sacrifices and cut back hours to cope more than once. My caring role is less physical care these days but am continuing to manage the finance side of mum’s residential care (this can be a huge hidden part of a caring role!) as well as making sure mum has me there for medical appointments to be her spokesperson and ensuring her care needs are met.”    

Sam Parsons: “I was a sandwich carer, looking after grandchildren and my disabled mother (now deceased). I worked, and still do, a condensed week so that I was able to look after my grandchildren and take my Mum to hospital appointments every Wednesday. I’ve now been working this pattern for over 8 years as I still look after my grandchildren.  At the time I started this working pattern, it was not a ‘thing’ so I had to fill out lots of forms and promise to be available on Wednesdays, should my manager need me. It was the only way I could make this change to my working pattern, but now, as understanding has evolved, those Wednesdays are protected and even flexible to me if I need to change it to a different day of the week, which is fantastic.”    

Elisa Pappalardo: “I find balancing work and caring responsibilities quite demanding, especially when expectations are high in both areas. It is even more challenging without a support network, and especially given the mismatch between full-time working hours and school schedules, where classes often end early in the afternoon while the working day continues, alongside term breaks and holidays”    

Peter Mauro: “As a first-time parent living in a different country without nearby family support, balancing work and caring responsibilities has been very challenging. In my culture, there is typically a strong support network, which we do not have here. Managing full-time work alongside nursery schedules and appointments can be difficult.”

What are your priorities for the ERG over the next year?    

Juliet Baker: “I’d love to see more people engage with the ERG – I know there are many colleagues who provide a caring role of one kind or another and we all benefit from learning from each other’s experiences and talking to one another. I’d also like to see the business raise its own profile for the flexibility and support it offers to carers of all kinds - it’s a real selling point for people joining IOP Publishing”    

Sam Parsons: “I’d like the ERG to push for Grandparents to be able to take time off work to look after their grandchildren, in case of emergency.”