What Does Family Caregiving Have in Common With Employers?
Your business is already being impacted by family caregiving. The Conference Board of Canada estimates the annual cost of lost productivity to be $1.3 billion to Canadian employers, and U.S. sources cite approximately $33.6 billion dollars to American employers.With an increasing number of working family caregivers it is vital that steps be taken to keep them employed.
As our population ages, the biggest impact will be on the “sandwich” generation – those 40 – 55 years, who are in the most important earning years of their careers and are suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into being a family caregiver for an elderly parent, spouse or child. An astounding 43% of caregivers reduced their work hours because of caregiving. This has a profound impact on both the caregiver and their employer.
Family caregivers who are working face having to modify their employment by:
- Turning down promotions
- Reducing work hours or taking a less demanding job
- Quitting a job to give care or taking early retirement
- Taking a leave of absence
- Arriving late/early or taking time off during the day
You are already paying the price as an employer. We can help you:
- Develop policies for a flexible workplace that meets the needs of you and your employee.
- Implement best practices to help you save your bottom line and give caregivers flexibility at work while they are caregiving.
- Reduce staff turnover, recruitment and training costs by keeping your valued employees who are also family caregivers.
We provide coaching or consulting services for:
- Management team and Human Resources department to create flexible policies
- Mid level managers and supervisors to assist with identifying family caregivers in the workplace so they can offer the best support.
- Employees – group or individual sessions to help employees find solutions to balance family caregiving with work responsibilities and connect employees with community and government resources.
For your personal consultation on how you can support your employees and minimize the impact to your bottom line, please contact us.