Eldercare Issues are Affecting our Workforce; Care Managers are Here to Help
We all know that work can be stressful and time consuming. Many of us juggled childcare needs with a demanding work schedule at some point in our careers. A growing problem in today’s work force is how to cope with working and caring for an older adult in our household. Roughly 40% of all working Americans are currently caring for an older adult as well. Workers are caught between the demands of their jobs and the critical needs of their parents or spouses who need more care than they can provide. Many companies have support focused on employees who have young children at home, but it’s important to also look at the opposite end of the spectrum to support those employees who are caring for their aged loved ones. The needs are different. Caring for an older adult often isn’t planned for. You don’t have 9 months to prepare for their needs, it often happens in a crisis and you have to help out immediately. Caring for older adults is also more confusing and expensive, taking more time and resources from working adults.
I had the experience of caring for a parent in my home several years ago. I was new to care management and also had 2 young children at home. The experience was eye opening to me and has helped me better understand the difficulties of trying to balance it all. I had the advantage of knowing many of the resources for my parent, yet it was still difficult living each day with a loved one who had memory loss. We dealt with lots of issues that I hadn’t anticipated, or could control. It was humbling.
So how can a care manager help? Here are a few ways we’ve been successful with support within the work place:
Sensitize managers on how to communicate and provide a supportive environment for their employees to talk about elder care concerns. A lot of employees are hiding these stressors as they are afraid they will lose opportunities in their work roles.
Educate employers on how to offer flexibility to their employees. Offering flex time within a work day or allowing employees to work from home can help. Reminding employees that they can use their FLMA benefit for up to 12 weeks of care a year can be helpful too.
Offering resource presentations or fairs. We can help connect employees with services that they may need for their loved one.
Helping to set up a resource library for employees. Whether they are books or online resources, they can be a helpful starting point for people who have questions.
