Tag: caregiver

Helping Care for Caregivers in the Workplace Across the country, millions of workers juggle their responsibilities as an employee with those of a caregiver for loved ones who are aging or suffering from chronic health conditions. A study conducted in 2020 found that based on employers' own estimates, these workers make up approximately 29% of the national workforce, and very likely, this number will continue to quickly grow. In fact, the number of adult caregivers is estimated to have grown 16% between 2015 and 2020 alone. Issues Affecting Caregivers Unfortunately, caregiving employees have been found to suffer from far more stress than other similarly situated employees, as well as increased absences from work and health issues. These issues also have an impact on caregiving employees' work, and these workers tend to have lower productivity as a result. Given the proportion of the workforce these employees represent, this makes caregiving a critical issue for employers. For the tens of millions of caregiving employees across the country, finding a balance between work and home life can be next to impossible. Often the challenges of finding professional caregivers, addressing insurance information, and possibly raising children, all while working a full-time job, can be a completely overwhelming experience. Many studies have reflected this and shown that caregiving employees face significantly higher levels of stress. One study found that 64% of caregivers report moderate to severe levels of stress from their roles as a caregiver. Unfortunately, caregivers have also been found to be less capable of taking care of their own health and emotional needs due to the time they spend caring for others, and often this is exasperated by financial strains as well. Ways Employers Can Help Caregivers Employers not only are in a position to help their employees but also have a solid business reason to do so. Many caregivers eventually decide that the strain is too great and will leave their jobs, retire, or transition from full-time to part-time work. By providing these employees with the assistance they need, employers can retain valuable talent at a time when it is in short supply. Here are some ideas to help: Employee Assistance Programs: These programs are generally offered as part of an employee benefit plan and offer access to counseling, crisis intervention, and other forms of assistance to help employees achieve a healthy work-life balance. Personal Time Off Plan: By providing employees with one bank of time off, which they can use instead of distinct categories for different purposes such as vacation time and sick leave, employees can have the flexibility they need for their role as a caregiver when unexpected incidents occur. Flexible Schedules or Remote Work: Allowing employees the opportunity to change the times they come in or simply work from home can go a long way to reduce the stress of scheduling care for their loved ones. Healthcare Advocacy: Employers can offer access to an expert who will help employees to navigate complex healthcare issues such as working with insurance providers and Medicare, understanding medical conditions, finding medical providers, and many other issues that can come up. This can reduce employees' stress and help them to remain focused on work instead of worrying. Dependent Care Assistance Plan: These tax-advantaged plans allow employees to set aside money from their paychecks before taxes to use for approved dependent care expenses. This can greatly help to reduce costs and financial stress. Employer Takeaways The fact is that employee caregivers face a considerable strain, and employers can benefit from helping to shoulder some of that burden. This can take the form of additional flexibility, access to additional services, or even helping with the financial strain of caregiving. Pre-employ offers free resources to help you stay compliant in your hiring practices. Check out our guide on 5 Tips To Avoid FCRA Non-Compliance to keep your company up-to-date. Source

Tag: caregiver

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