Employer Support for Care Giving Employees

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that in the year 2010, 54% of workforce employees will provide elder care for a parent or parents and that nearly two-thirds of care givers will experience conflict between demands at home and demands from employers.

Today's employed babyboomers are the care giver generation for their parents.  They are finding themselves juggling care responsibilities around their employment obligations.  Sometimes employees find they have no option but to take leave from work or use sick time to meet their care giving demands.

Businesses that don't offer benefits or address elder care wind up paying for them.  A recent study by the MetLife Market Mature Institute and the National Alliance for Care Giving states that U.S. companies pay between $17.1 billion and $33.6 billion annually, depending on the level of care giving involved, on lost productivity.  That equals $2,110 for every full-time worker who cares for an adult.

Typically, human resource departments work with employees on many issues that may affect their work productivity.  There are programs for drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, illness,, absenteeism and child care but help with elder care issues is not normally provided.

The HR Department of a business in Utah, invited the Salt Lake Elder Care Planning Council to present a brown bag lunch and learn during their employees' lunch hour.  In 30 minutes those who attended learned how the services of a Care Manager, Home Care Provider, Elder Attorney, Medicaid Planner and Financial Consultant can help with care giving decisions.  Problems were discussed questions answered and employees left armed with information and the names of professional people they knew could help them.