Caregivers in the Workforce
Harvard Business School recently published a report written by Joseph B. Fuller and Manjari Raman that highlights the growing issue of caregivers in the workforce and the assistance they need to be successful in balancing their work life with their caregiving responsibilities.
The report cites the aging population combined with an increasingly female workforce and the tightening of the job market as creating a critical management issue. This growing trend marks the need for employers to not only be aware of the issue, but to also create policies and programs to ensure that their employees can be successful in both their job functions as well as their role as a caregiver. Without management’s involvement, companies face a serious threat to their workforce related to both productivity and employee retention.
The Caring Workplace® is an employee benefit program created by St. Andrew’s over a decade ago to address this very concern. The benefit program assists at the corporate level, by providing education and information to management and Human Resources, while at the same time delivering one on one counseling, support, and resources to the individual employees who are juggling their work life with their caregiving responsibilities. The goal of the program is to help employees remain productive at work, while easing some of their challenges related to caring for a loved one, ultimately saving on the cost of caregiving for both the employer and the employee. The program is a viable, cost effective solution for companies.
For a link to the report please visit: https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/why-business-should-support-employees-who-are-caregivers?cid=spmailing-24704528-WK%20Newsletter%2001-23-2019%20(1)-January%2023,%202019
For more information contact your Caring Workplace® Eldercare Specialist, Heather Spindler at 314-802-5106 or via email at [email protected].