The average caregiver is a 40-something employed woman. Anyone like that on your staff? You need to develop programs to help her out.
Working caregivers now comprise a large part of the workforce. Due to simple demographics, many employees -- surveys put the number at 10 per cent or higher -- find themselves having to care for aging parents or relatives, often in addition to caring for their own children.
Besides working caregivers, who provide primary care, there is another group of workers who provide long-distance care to parents or relatives with disabilities. Obviously, the toll this kind of stress takes on the employee is enormous.
Costs
In addition, there are costs to the company, including absenteeism, workday interruptions, recruitment costs (to replace employees who quit) and decreased productivity in general.
While eldercare needs are not new, as it becomes more prevalent, the issue is being pushed to the forefront. The greatest increase in the numbers of elderly in North America is expected between the years 2010 and 2030, when the baby boom generation turns 65.
The typical caregiver is a 46-year-old employed woman who spends approximately 18 hours per week caring for her mother. The average duration of caregiving is 4.5 years, but that figure is likely to increase as medical advances prolong life.
A Hewitt Associates survey of work and family benefit plans of Fortune 500 companies found that in 1996 nearly one-third of the employers offered eldercare programs. This represents an increase of 17 per cent over 1991.
Most of the companies -- 79 per cent -- offered resource and referral programs. Long-term care insurance was offered by 25 per cent of the employers with eldercare programs, up from 5 per cent in 1991.
A 1997 study in the U.S. found that eldercare benefits are not offered as often in the public sector, with only seven per cent of responding agencies indicating that they offer eldercare assistance.
Whatever the work-life benefits available, supervisors' attitudes and behaviour can make or break the usefulness of the program. While a benefit may exist on paper, managers can send mixed signals when the employees try to use the benefit.
How organizations can help
Since eldercare is a problem likely to affect every company sooner or later, the time to establish resources is now. The first step is to conduct a needs survey. A needs survey can help assess the scope of your firm's employee eldercare concerns.
After reviewing data from an employee survey, you can build a program.
Here are some elements to consider
Resource and referral
Resource and referral services for eldercare help familiarize employees with the available array of services for the elderly, including medical, custodial, legal and counselling services. You also can provide information about eldercare through seminars, support groups, handbooks, hotlines and your EAP.
Resource and referral services are starting to gain in popularity in the US. A recent study found that 23 per cent of the companies surveyed offered these services, and an additional five per cent are considering it.
Subsidies
Your company can offer reimbursement or direct subsidies to employees for costs for visiting nurses or costs associated with hiring a caregiver or respite care.
Support groups
These are often available through hospitals, nursing homes, social service agencies and health councils. America Online even offers an online care giver support chat group.
Employee assistance programs
In one study, among respondents using EAPs, the heaviest users were employees with both eldercare and child care responsibilities. EAPs serve in a variety of roles to co-ordinate and assist in developing and procuring eldercare services.
Caregiver fairs
Caregiver fairs are becoming popular. They are held through public groups or in conjunction with organizations and private corporations.
They are usually four hours long and held in a strategic location, such as a cafeteria or lobby. They include creative promotional activities, eldercare service vendors who run exhibits, and mini-tip sessions in conjunction with the fair to address a variety of eldercare issues.
Counselling
The University of California at Berkeley has a pilot program under which an onsite, licensed clinical social worker provides assessment and counselling to faculty and staff on eldercare and adult dependent care issues.
Long-term care insurance
This helps employees pay for long-term care for themselves or dependent children, spouses or parents.
Adult day care
Employers can support local, adult daycare centers with financial or in-kind contributions. These facilities offer adult day programs for the elderly; adult day programs are also available in hospitals and other care facilities.
Emergency care
The purpose of emergency care is to assure that assistance will be available when regular arrangements are not, or when other circumstances dictate a short-term need.
For example, a consortium of seven businesses, primarily law firms, began a program at no cost to employees for emergency in-home child and eldercare. Administered by Caregivers on Call, the service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round, when employees' usual child or eldercare arrangements fall through.
Eldercare pager programs
Some companies have eldercare pager programs in which they provide a free pager to employees with needs related to eldercare.
Flexible spending accounts
In dependent-care assistance programs or flexible spending accounts in the U.S., the employer and employee agree to reduce the employee's income by a certain amount to be placed in a dependent care assistance fund for the employee. Employee benefits surveys suggest that only a small percentage of employees use such accounts, although some companies subsidize employee contributions to the accounts.
Flextime
Arrangements such as telecommuting, compressed work weeks, job sharing, part-time employment, flextime, and bi-weekly work arrangements let staff adapt their schedules to the needs of their families.
Ann Vincola is senior partner of Corporate Work/Life Consulting, a subsidiary of Knowledge Beginnings. She can be reached at (617) 867-9175.
Besides working caregivers, who provide primary care, there is another group of workers who provide long-distance care to parents or relatives with disabilities. Obviously, the toll this kind of stress takes on the employee is enormous.
Costs
In addition, there are costs to the company, including absenteeism, workday interruptions, recruitment costs (to replace employees who quit) and decreased productivity in general.
While eldercare needs are not new, as it becomes more prevalent, the issue is being pushed to the forefront. The greatest increase in the numbers of elderly in North America is expected between the years 2010 and 2030, when the baby boom generation turns 65.
The typical caregiver is a 46-year-old employed woman who spends approximately 18 hours per week caring for her mother. The average duration of caregiving is 4.5 years, but that figure is likely to increase as medical advances prolong life.
A Hewitt Associates survey of work and family benefit plans of Fortune 500 companies found that in 1996 nearly one-third of the employers offered eldercare programs. This represents an increase of 17 per cent over 1991.
Most of the companies -- 79 per cent -- offered resource and referral programs. Long-term care insurance was offered by 25 per cent of the employers with eldercare programs, up from 5 per cent in 1991.
A 1997 study in the U.S. found that eldercare benefits are not offered as often in the public sector, with only seven per cent of responding agencies indicating that they offer eldercare assistance.
Whatever the work-life benefits available, supervisors' attitudes and behaviour can make or break the usefulness of the program. While a benefit may exist on paper, managers can send mixed signals when the employees try to use the benefit.
How organizations can help
Since eldercare is a problem likely to affect every company sooner or later, the time to establish resources is now. The first step is to conduct a needs survey. A needs survey can help assess the scope of your firm's employee eldercare concerns.
After reviewing data from an employee survey, you can build a program.
Here are some elements to consider
Resource and referral
Resource and referral services for eldercare help familiarize employees with the available array of services for the elderly, including medical, custodial, legal and counselling services. You also can provide information about eldercare through seminars, support groups, handbooks, hotlines and your EAP.
Resource and referral services are starting to gain in popularity in the US. A recent study found that 23 per cent of the companies surveyed offered these services, and an additional five per cent are considering it.
Subsidies
Your company can offer reimbursement or direct subsidies to employees for costs for visiting nurses or costs associated with hiring a caregiver or respite care.
Support groups
These are often available through hospitals, nursing homes, social service agencies and health councils. America Online even offers an online care giver support chat group.
Employee assistance programs
In one study, among respondents using EAPs, the heaviest users were employees with both eldercare and child care responsibilities. EAPs serve in a variety of roles to co-ordinate and assist in developing and procuring eldercare services.
Caregiver fairs
Caregiver fairs are becoming popular. They are held through public groups or in conjunction with organizations and private corporations.
They are usually four hours long and held in a strategic location, such as a cafeteria or lobby. They include creative promotional activities, eldercare service vendors who run exhibits, and mini-tip sessions in conjunction with the fair to address a variety of eldercare issues.
Counselling
The University of California at Berkeley has a pilot program under which an onsite, licensed clinical social worker provides assessment and counselling to faculty and staff on eldercare and adult dependent care issues.
Long-term care insurance
This helps employees pay for long-term care for themselves or dependent children, spouses or parents.
Adult day care
Employers can support local, adult daycare centers with financial or in-kind contributions. These facilities offer adult day programs for the elderly; adult day programs are also available in hospitals and other care facilities.
Emergency care
The purpose of emergency care is to assure that assistance will be available when regular arrangements are not, or when other circumstances dictate a short-term need.
For example, a consortium of seven businesses, primarily law firms, began a program at no cost to employees for emergency in-home child and eldercare. Administered by Caregivers on Call, the service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round, when employees' usual child or eldercare arrangements fall through.
Eldercare pager programs
Some companies have eldercare pager programs in which they provide a free pager to employees with needs related to eldercare.
Flexible spending accounts
In dependent-care assistance programs or flexible spending accounts in the U.S., the employer and employee agree to reduce the employee's income by a certain amount to be placed in a dependent care assistance fund for the employee. Employee benefits surveys suggest that only a small percentage of employees use such accounts, although some companies subsidize employee contributions to the accounts.
Flextime
Arrangements such as telecommuting, compressed work weeks, job sharing, part-time employment, flextime, and bi-weekly work arrangements let staff adapt their schedules to the needs of their families.
Ann Vincola is senior partner of Corporate Work/Life Consulting, a subsidiary of Knowledge Beginnings. She can be reached at (617) 867-9175.
