June 28, 2004 7:41 AM

From Generation X to the Sandwich Generation
Posted by Diane Danielsonat 7:41 AM

In the movie About Last Night, Demi Moore was asked “what does one do on sandwich night?” Nearly twenty years later and that question has a whole new meaning for those of us who grew up with the Brat Pack. Today we are fast becoming part of the “Sandwich Generation” where we are providing both child and elderly care in addition to holding down fulltime jobs. Sunday’s BostonWorks section reports on a study which shows that “[e]lder care responsibilities are affecting workers' jobs and, in some cases, their other relationships.”

Of those polled, 35 percent of those working outside the home and taking care of an aging parent or older relative say their job performance has suffered. Thirty percent of those who work and are also married say their marriages have suffered as a result of caregiving responsibilities.

While the survey did not identify how many of those interviewed with elderly care responsibilities were women, it did note that the caregivers who had sisters were much more likely to receive some help from siblings as opposed to those with only brothers.
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