Over the last two decades in corporate America, there has been a growing discussion about the impact of family caregiving on employee health, absenteeism, productivity, and work life balance. Although most of America is now closer to the elder care cliff because the population is older, as a country, we are less prepared than we were ten years ago.
So where and how do we begin to fix this challenge?
A great starting point is at the workplace. Why? Because 76% of the American work force is involved or impacted by family caregiving.
How?
The answer is simpler than it looks. We can begin to fix the challenge of family caregiving in corporate America through an employee elder care assistance program. Not a program that offers a working daughter and family caregiver a list of community resources that she cannot use after work hours for the pressing problems at hand. A list will not help when she needs to call off from work because her grandmother is ill and there is no available, dependable and affordable caregiving service. That list becomes less useful the next day because she will use work hours to find resources while her problems get worse. In the meantime, her productivity is dropping, her anxiety is mounting, her own health is failing and the company’s health insurance cost is climbing. With COVID -19 these family caregivers have a new set of problems.
To begin working on this issue, human resource departments need to step up to a system for identifying employees who are family caregivers and set up programs and policies that address attendance and support for these employees. Creating an effective “work coverage and team coverage” plan is an effective way to manage absences brought on by unexpected caregivers situations.
Over the last nine years, through the CAREgiving Institute and the Caregiver Relief Network, I have designed and executed effective elder care work place programs to support employers who want to reduce absenteeism, improve employee retention, lower their health insurance premiums and build heart power among their employees. An employee elder care assistance program can enhance the benefits of an existing employee assistance program. Through long term care planning services, caregiver coaching, connection and transition to home health care services, adult day health programs, veteran administration benefits applications and well as employee work life balance and wellness workshops, I have been able to help employers support their employees. Employers can pick and choose the components of the program that is most suited for their current employee population. To discuss your company’s elder care work place needs please send an inquiry to Stella@StellaNsong.com or call 833-603-0022.
