Over the last two decades, there has been a growing discussion about the impact of family caregiving on employee health, absenteeism, productivity, and work life balance in Corporate America.
Many corporations have invested heavily in work life balance departments without significant measurable results. 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, son, in-law and family caregiver a list of community resources that he/she cannot use after work hours for the pressing problems at hand. A list will not help when there is a need to call off from work because a loved one is ill and there is no available, dependable and affordable caregiving service or system. That list becomes less useful the next day because the employee will use work hours to find resources while the caregiving problem get worse. In the meantime, productivity is dropping, anxiety is mounting, personal 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 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 one possible way to manage absences brought on by unexpected caregiving situations.
Over the last ten years, through the CAREgiving Institute and the Caregiver Relief Network, I have designed and executed employee 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 back up care programs, 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. You can also request a free consultation through this link https://sfna.wufoo.com/forms/elder-care-work-place-programhelp-during-covid19/
