Elder Care Benefits Program a Profitable Move
Eldercare Assistance Programs Becoming Part of American Culture
Aug 11, 2009
Elder care, or eldercare, is a growing concept in America; the term encompasses the population of frail elderly individuals that cannot manage independent living skills. Elder care is the act of caring for a frail person, advanced in age, who lives at home and who requires supervision and/or extensive personal care assistance.
The working adult who unexpectedly finds himself in the position of having to care for an elderly family member suddenly is faced with a multitude of problems. Unless the employee knows in advance what caregiver resources are available, and knows what additional benefits his employer might have to offer, he naturally assumes his job is going to be adversely affected.
Company performance suffers when the employee caregiver misses work days or leaves work early. Production slows when the employee is preoccupied, trying to figure out how he or she is going to manage everything physically and financially.
Employee Caregiver Assistance and Benefits
An employee is likely to be more focused and miss fewer days from work when he is assured that the elderly loved one in his care is receiving proper treatment. Employees also need to know that job positions are safe when emergencies arise.
Elderly care-giving may take place in the home by utilizing the services of a volunteer or caregiver agency, or may take place at an elderly care facility such as an adult daycare center. Some companies already support eldercare programs and may suggest such benefits as:
- "Employers can offer "cafeteria style" employee benefits which allow employees to select supplemental dependent care coverage to reimburse costs for in-home care or adult day care." The Family Caregiver Alliance Web site provides this information on the page, "Work and Eldercare," (no author provided), and goes on to state, "Benefits also should cover therapeutic counseling for the employee to help cope with the stresses of caregiving."
- Large companies might elect to organize some kind of support group for employees who have taken on the role of caregiver for an elderly person.
- Businesses of all sizes might publish information on community resources for the elderly, and include information on company benefits available to the employee caregiver.
- Flexible work schedules and the option to work from home may or may not be practical for some companies at present. One or more of these options may become a necessity in the future as baby-boomers advance into their senior years. The children of those seniors are in the workforce today.
- Companies with more than fifty employees are subject to comply with the Department of Labor's Family and Medical Leave Act. Eligible employees are granted up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition. Eligible employees seeking leave must also have worked for their employer for at least one year and for over 1250 hours during the last year.
How Eldercare Programs Benefit Employers
Other than what is specified by the Department of Labor, do employers have an obligation to provide additional benefits and assistance to employees facing elder care issues? No, they do not. But just as children and childcare are facts of life, so are the growing population of elderly persons and elder care. Elder care is fast becoming a part of American culture. Attention to an employee's needs just makes good business sense. So far, evidence shows there is a profitable return on investing in eldercare programs.
The Works Options Group Web site offers the article, "Elder Care Programs Take Center Stage as Baby Boomers Age." Author Jessica Marquez, New York bureau chief for Workforce Management, makes reference to the following employers: Baptist Health South Florida, the law firm of Bryan Cave, and WorldatWork. Marquez states that these companies, "... are launching or enhancing their programs to help employees identify and receive care for parents. During the first nine months of offering backup [caregiver] care to employees, Baptist Health has seen $65,000 in savings. The cost savings is a direct result of not having to replace employees who need to take days off."
Inevitably, the number of elderly will grow substantially in the near future. Many notable prolific companies are already seeing the results of upgrading caregiver labor benefits – benefits that provide employees with backup caregiver services for elderly parents, additional insurance coverage, and employee counseling to manage caregiver stress. The results have paid off in reduced days missed at work, improved employee morale, and increased production.
Eldercare is evolving as part of the American culture. As the population of senior citizens explodes, businesses large and small will have no recourse but to address eldercare issues and amend company benefits to comply with the changing times.
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