Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, a reporter with the Chicago Tribune, shines a much needed light on the subject of supporting employees who not only juggle life and work, but also the added responsibilities and tasks of caring for an aging parent or loved one.
As people live longer and work longer, experts expect a growing number of employees to juggle their jobs with caregiving for aging parents or ill relatives, an experience that can affect their health, productivity and finances as well as their employer’s bottom line. But even as more employers offer paid maternity and paternity leave to help new parents balance work and family, companies have been slow to accommodate those grappling with the stress that comes when family members approach the end of life. That is starting to change, said Michael Walsh, CEO of Cariloop, a platform for employees to access caregiving resources. Employers that previously “would look at us like we had five heads” when Cariloop pitched benefits for workers caring for aging parents have expressed more interest over the past 18 months, he said. The shift may be in part because millennials, who expect greater flexibility and work-life balance, are moving into caregiving roles, he said. About a quarter of the 40 million Americans providing unpaid care to adults in 2014 were millennials aged 18 to 34, according to a 2015 AARP report, and their share will swell as society ages.
Click here to read the full article from the Chicago Tribune. Written by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz.