Sandwich MIXXL - Combination Strategies at the Sandwich Generation

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Combination strategies in the Sandwich Generation

Our partners

Funded by: the ESF (European Social Fund)

In cooperation with: career guidance center Kompass-Emino, Gezinsbond, Verso vzw, Samana vzw, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences- Small Business Center, Dobre Kadry, Fundacion Accion contre el hambre

Researcher: Miet Timmers

ESF investeert in jouw toekomst
Research Project

Combination strategies in the Sandwich Generation

Adults who are caring for an older and a younger generation at the same time in their lives, and also often combine that care with a job, are called the "Sandwich Generation.

sandwichgeneratie

The Sandwich Generation

  • Typically, they are between the ages of 45 and 65.
  • The "sandwich position" is not gender neutral: it is far more often women than men who take care of their aging relatives. Moreover, women still take more care of their own (grand)children.
  • Because of the increase in the retirement age, the tendency to let elderly people live at home for a long time and to rely on informal care, and the large proportion of young adults who continue to live at home in Hotel Mama, it is clear that this group will only increase in the coming years, in Flanders and in the rest of Europe.

Objective

  • We want to guide women and men between 45 and 65 years of age who combine a job with a double care task to find a good combination strategy.
  • We hope this will enable them to combine their job with care and a family for longer and with more motivation and commitment.

We have developed several tools for this, in collaboration with our Flemish and international partners:

  • A coaching and training program for the Sandwich Generation.
  • A training and awareness program for employers, managers and HR professionals.

We have compiled all the results and tools on one page.