Hold the Mayo

How to ensure your sandwich employees don’t get too thinly spread

Some Canadians face extra challenges when it comes to balancing work and family responsibilities: they’re sandwiched between children and aging parents, and the extra responsibility can take its toll.

Nora Spinks, President of Work-Life Harmony Enterprises, a consulting firm based in Toronto, says several factors have increased the likelihood that Canadians are juggling multiple responsibilities: the population is aging while people are delaying starting families. Increased mobility makes people more likely to be involved in long-distance caring, and people are having smaller families, so there are fewer people to share the load.