This is part 2 of 5 of the series called CORPORATE AMERICA & CAREGIVING; How To Improve Profits through Balancing Organizational Needs and Human Needs Related To Caregiving Employees. Part one discusses the overall impact of caregiving on your business. If you missed part one, here is a brief summary; caregiving directly affects corporate earnings through its impact on the worker’s job performance, absenteeism, loss productivity, time lost from work, inability to stay on the job, higher healthcare cost due to stress, higher cost of recruitment, retention, training and supervisory challenges. In part two, I will discuss the needs of working caregivers and how corporations can increase their bottom line and boost profits through balancing organizational and human needs of their employees by using an effective elder care work place program.
CHANGES AT HOME EQUALS CHANGES AT WORK
Caregiving is generally defined as providing unpaid assistance supporting the physical and emotional needs of another person. The numbers are showing that half of the work force is involved in caregiving. Most studies do not include spousal caregivers because they do not identify themselves as caregivers but rather consider themselves as “helping out” and as such are hesitant to apply the term “caregiver” to themselves. However, these spouses are in the work place and their lives are equally affected and so is the bottom line of the company they work for. Also 49% of working caregivers are men. Corporations should keep several things in mind regarding male employees who are caregivers. Among them:
- They forego work-related travel more often than women.
- They are less likely to discuss their own roles as caregiver with coworkers
- Their sensitivity to corporate and social culture usually impedes openness and willingness or the ability to seek help.
WHAT WORKING CAREGIVERS REALLY NEED
The most well-known large-scale research that measured the impact of caregiving was done by Metlife (funded by AARP) and was lacking in the fact that it did not measure health related costs. A study cited in the Academy of Management Journal focused on what today’s caregiving employees really need and it addressed the relationship between caregiving decisions, work-family conflict, and work performance. This study showed that working employees suffer high levels of stress, anxiety, irritability, depression, physical illness, obesity, financial insecurity, isolation, poor self-esteem and in many cases, caregiving employees reported that their home life amounted to a “second shift of work”.
IS IT WORTH HAVING AN EFFECTIVE CAREGIVING & ELDERCARE PROGRAM?
The answer is a DEFINITE YES. Progressive employers listen to the research, see the potential savings, and consider the investment into their corporations. For a free consultation on how to invest in your employees and boost profits through an effective elder care work place program please email me at Stella@StellaNSONG.com or call 1-833-77-AGING or 833-772-4464.
