How many employees provide care for a child? For a parent? Grandparent? If you are an employer wondering which of your employees currently are or may soon become a caregiver, the answer is simple: All of them.
“It’s not a question of if, but when,” Jeryn Laengrich, told attendees at the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Annual Conference and Exposition in Chicago, while discussing the findings of a white paper on caregivers in the workplace released jointly by Cariloop and Facebook. According to the white paper, as caregiving affects more and more employees, it also has a negative impact on businesses that fail to address caregiving-related issues. Fortunately, it’s possible for employers to avert the problem by providing employees with the means to better handle caregiving challenges and reduce some of the stress and anxiety of trying to balance their work and caregiving responsibilities.
How Employers Can Help
Many people consider it an honor to provide caregiving, and in many instances, these individuals sacrifice their work/life balance and risk losing their jobs. “Employee caregivers need time to care for a loved one without jeopardizing their good standing at work,” said Michael Walsh, Cariloop CEO and lead editor of the white paper. “They also need supportive services to help navigate the complex decisions required when caregiving.” The good news is that there are many steps employers can take to help employees balance their work and caregiving responsibilities. It’s not always a matter of “throwing money at the problem” and offering more benefits. Instead, employers can find innovative and strategic ways to apply benefits and to tap into programs that support employee caregivers. Sometimes a solution can be as simple as expanding existing benefits such as flexible schedules or work arrangements, informing employees about existing benefits, such as an EAP or leave bank, or broadening the definitions in a family care leave program to include more types of caregivers and family members of all ages.
Click here to read the full article. Originally posted by XPert HR.
