Overview: Combining informal care and work: it is a tough and sometimes almost impossible combination. Many informal caregivers therefore work less or report sick, research shows. The calculations are that 18 percent of absenteeism due to illness is related to informal care. It is therefore extra important for employers to ensure that their informal caregiver employees remain standing. But are employers ready for that? Are the care leave arrangements adequate? Who will ultimately pay for the aging society, in which we increasingly have to take care of each other?