The Costs of Caring
Sometimes a trend is hardly noticed despite its importance and inevitability. The rise in caregiving by employees, particularly in the area of eldercare, is such a trend.
One reason that caregiving receives scant notice in the workplace is that employees often keep quiet about their caregiving duties. Caregiving is seen as a personal matter, and some employees don't want their bosses second-guessing their work commitment. "Until it hits home, it tends to be viewed as someone else's issue," states Joyce Ruddock, vice-president of MetLife's Long-Term Care Group. "But demographics will change that and put eldercare on a lot more employers' radar screens."
That's not to say that many major corporations aren't already aware of the problem. In fact, a new HRI survey of 156 organizations shows that about 70% of respondents thought caregiver-related staffing problems such as absenteeism and turnover have increased in the last ten years. This impression is supported by independent studies showing that the number of U.S. caregivers has tripled over the last decade. Moreover, about 92% of HRI respondents believe that caregiver-related staffing problems will increase over the next ten years, an increase made virtually certain by the graying of populations in developed nations.
For both employers and employees, the costs of caregiving may be enormous. Two thirds of U.S. caregivers have jobs, reports the Wall Street Journal. A National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP survey of 1,200 eldercare-providing workers found that 31% either change their career paths or leave work altogether. Among respondents, 11% reported taking a leave of absence, 7% opted to work fewer hours, 4% lost job benefits, 3% turned down a promotion, and 10% took early retirement or quit their jobs. Another survey, the 1999 Metlife Juggling Act Study, found that fully 16% of caregivers quit their jobs and 13% retired early.
The costs of caregiving were confirmed in the new HRI survey, where respondents were asked about the degree to which productivity is lost as a result of employee caregiver responsibilities:
Despite the perceived costs, many employers have yet to implement caregiving programs. The 2000 Society for Human Resource Management Benefits Survey, for example, found that just 15% of respondents provide eldercare referral services, and it was the larger firms that were most likely to offer such services. But the HRI study found that, even among the large corporations surveyed, about 30% say they neither provide caregiving assistance nor plan to provide it in the future.
HRI's survey also asked respondents to rate the value of a variety of caregiver support services in terms of how well they increase productivity and morale while reducing absenteeism. Some services, such as resource and referral programs, were viewed as highly valuable, while others, such as in-kind or cash contributions to support community respite centers, received relatively low ratings. In addition to resource and referral services, which were ranked as highly or moderately valuable by 94.6% of respondents, three more stand head and shoulders above other options: flexible spending accounts (89.9%), flexible scheduling options (89.3%) and employee assistance programs (88.6%). Long-term-care insurance was ranked fifth (74.5%). Generally speaking, the HRI respondents tended to see the most value in services that help employees help themselves.
Of course, for employees to get help, they must first be willing to come forward with their problems. HR Magazine recently reported, "Employees at Marriott International Inc. in Washington, D.C., appear to feel comfortable speaking up when they need help with elder care." This comfort is linked to Marriott's Associate Resource Line, a toll-free resource and referral service that allows employees to confidentially confer with social workers about a range of personal issues. Marriott employees have placed over 20,000 calls to the Resource Line over the last four years. The company reports that the service led to the retention of 600 people and the avoidance of 900 days of absence in 1999.
As the population ages both in the U.S. and abroad, it's likely that employers of choice will need to invest in caregiver services. What remains in question is whether referral and counseling programs alone will suffice or whether companies will need to provide more extensive services such as dependent-care subsidies or company-sponsored eldercare centers.
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In May 2000, HR Magazine published "The Elder Care Gap," seen at
http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0500cov.htm
Information about the U.S. government's Eldercare Locator is at
http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov/elderpage/locator.html
Information about the 1999 Metlife Juggling Act Study is at
http://heller.brandeis.edu/national/metpress.htm#freecopy
The Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) can be found at
http://www.caregiver.org/
The FCA offers its own set of links at http://www.caregiver.org/web_picks.html and at http://www.caregiver.org/other_web.html
Information about the National Family Caregivers Association can be found at
http://www.nfcacares.org/
The NFCA's survey of caregivers can be found at
http://www.nfcacares.org/survey.html
Below are some caregiver-related links that recently appeared in a Wall Street Journal article:
National Alliance for Caregiving
Alzheimer's Association
U.S. Medicare information
U.S. Medicaid information
Site offering some useful Web links --http://www.elderweb.com/
Site providing facility ratings -- http://www.carescout.com/
One reason that caregiving receives scant notice in the workplace is that employees often keep quiet about their caregiving duties. Caregiving is seen as a personal matter, and some employees don't want their bosses second-guessing their work commitment. "Until it hits home, it tends to be viewed as someone else's issue," states Joyce Ruddock, vice-president of MetLife's Long-Term Care Group. "But demographics will change that and put eldercare on a lot more employers' radar screens."
That's not to say that many major corporations aren't already aware of the problem. In fact, a new HRI survey of 156 organizations shows that about 70% of respondents thought caregiver-related staffing problems such as absenteeism and turnover have increased in the last ten years. This impression is supported by independent studies showing that the number of U.S. caregivers has tripled over the last decade. Moreover, about 92% of HRI respondents believe that caregiver-related staffing problems will increase over the next ten years, an increase made virtually certain by the graying of populations in developed nations.
For both employers and employees, the costs of caregiving may be enormous. Two thirds of U.S. caregivers have jobs, reports the Wall Street Journal. A National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP survey of 1,200 eldercare-providing workers found that 31% either change their career paths or leave work altogether. Among respondents, 11% reported taking a leave of absence, 7% opted to work fewer hours, 4% lost job benefits, 3% turned down a promotion, and 10% took early retirement or quit their jobs. Another survey, the 1999 Metlife Juggling Act Study, found that fully 16% of caregivers quit their jobs and 13% retired early.
The costs of caregiving were confirmed in the new HRI survey, where respondents were asked about the degree to which productivity is lost as a result of employee caregiver responsibilities:
- Nearly a quarter (24%) reported that productivity is lost to a high degree and 13% said it's lost to a moderate degree because companies are forced to replace employees who quit due to caregiver duties.
- About 60% said that productivity was lost to a high or moderate degree as a result of workday interruptions.
- Fifty-six percent stated that productivity was lost to a high or moderate degree because of absenteeism.
- Fifty-four percent pointed to the need to arrange leaves of absence, job changes and reduced work schedules.
- Even the time lost thinking about caregiving problems was considered a high to moderate productivity drain by 44%.
Despite the perceived costs, many employers have yet to implement caregiving programs. The 2000 Society for Human Resource Management Benefits Survey, for example, found that just 15% of respondents provide eldercare referral services, and it was the larger firms that were most likely to offer such services. But the HRI study found that, even among the large corporations surveyed, about 30% say they neither provide caregiving assistance nor plan to provide it in the future.
HRI's survey also asked respondents to rate the value of a variety of caregiver support services in terms of how well they increase productivity and morale while reducing absenteeism. Some services, such as resource and referral programs, were viewed as highly valuable, while others, such as in-kind or cash contributions to support community respite centers, received relatively low ratings. In addition to resource and referral services, which were ranked as highly or moderately valuable by 94.6% of respondents, three more stand head and shoulders above other options: flexible spending accounts (89.9%), flexible scheduling options (89.3%) and employee assistance programs (88.6%). Long-term-care insurance was ranked fifth (74.5%). Generally speaking, the HRI respondents tended to see the most value in services that help employees help themselves.
Of course, for employees to get help, they must first be willing to come forward with their problems. HR Magazine recently reported, "Employees at Marriott International Inc. in Washington, D.C., appear to feel comfortable speaking up when they need help with elder care." This comfort is linked to Marriott's Associate Resource Line, a toll-free resource and referral service that allows employees to confidentially confer with social workers about a range of personal issues. Marriott employees have placed over 20,000 calls to the Resource Line over the last four years. The company reports that the service led to the retention of 600 people and the avoidance of 900 days of absence in 1999.
As the population ages both in the U.S. and abroad, it's likely that employers of choice will need to invest in caregiver services. What remains in question is whether referral and counseling programs alone will suffice or whether companies will need to provide more extensive services such as dependent-care subsidies or company-sponsored eldercare centers.
====================================================
In May 2000, HR Magazine published "The Elder Care Gap," seen at
http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0500cov.htm
Information about the U.S. government's Eldercare Locator is at
http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov/elderpage/locator.html
Information about the 1999 Metlife Juggling Act Study is at
http://heller.brandeis.edu/national/metpress.htm#freecopy
The Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) can be found at
http://www.caregiver.org/
The FCA offers its own set of links at http://www.caregiver.org/web_picks.html and at http://www.caregiver.org/other_web.html
Information about the National Family Caregivers Association can be found at
http://www.nfcacares.org/
The NFCA's survey of caregivers can be found at
http://www.nfcacares.org/survey.html
Below are some caregiver-related links that recently appeared in a Wall Street Journal article:
National Alliance for Caregiving
Alzheimer's Association
U.S. Medicare information
U.S. Medicaid information
Site offering some useful Web links --http://www.elderweb.com/
Site providing facility ratings -- http://www.carescout.com/