The big worry in the year two thousand was how businesses and the US economy would thrive through the financial cliff. Today and for the next twelve years, the pressing question is how will you and your company survive the elder care cliff?
The elder care cliff is the presumed economic crisis that will face this country by the year 2030 when the fastest growing segment of the population will be made up of people 65 years and older. How will families care for their aging loved ones? How will businesses keep good talent and a healthy work force when many of their employees will be forced to only work part time or resign because of the demands placed on them as family caregivers?
75% of the current work force are family caregivers providing twenty or more hours of unpaid care to a loved one outside of their work life. According to the Met Life Institute for caregiving, most family caregivers are clinically depressed and/or chronically ill and go untreated causing loss of productivity and skyrocketing health care premiums for their employers. How will the government be able to fund the already limited Medicaid and Medicare programs when less taxes will be collected from employers due to the shrinking tax paying work force?
One recommendation on how to survive the Elder Care Cliff.
If you answer NO to two or more of the following questions your company may not navigate or survive the elder care cliff.
- Do you employ people in the sandwich generation?
- Does your company have a system for training managers on how to handle absenteeism and performance of employees who are family caregivers?
- Does your company have an occupational health and wellness program?
- Does your company participate in a formal employee assistance program?
- Does your company’s employee assistance program have an elder care workplace service?
If you answered no to two or more of the questions above, I recommend that you consider a free no obligations consultation on how an effective elder care work place program could reduce the cost of loss productivity associated with caregiving, improve employee work life balance, reduce employer health care cost and increase employee work satisfaction and retention so that your company can survive the elder care cliff.
To begin helping your employees right away, apply for access to participate in the free on line caregiving program for employee caregivers at www.ElderCareandCaregivingNetwork.com or call 855-942-9933 or email to Stella@StellaNsong.com
