According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), there has been a steady decrease in the proportion of U.S. employers offering programs that help employees balance work and eldercare responsibilities. This website has been developed for the purpose of providing employers with information regarding workplace environments that are supportive of working caregivers.
Employed Caregiver Survey
The UW Cooperative Extension Family Living Programs has developed and piloted the “Employed Caregiver Survey.” This confidential, web-based survey process produces an executive summary and a longer report, which defines the scope and needs of employed caregivers and make recommendations for assistance. For complete instructions on how to implement the “Employed Caregiver Survey,” please visit Employed Family Caregiver Survey.
Videos on Issues Related to Work and Eldercare
Short videos addressing “employed caregiving” tackle issues related to care given to elderly family members by persons who are also employed. The primary objective of these videos is to help employers create work environments that are supportive of families and households simultaneously engaged in work and elder care.
The video titles will link you to a YouTube video. For closed captioning, click the “cc” button when the video begins:
Resources related to each video are available via the link after each video description. Access all nine videos here.
Blog Posts
Keeping Up With the Times: Supporting Family Caregivers With Workplace Leave Policies was recently published by Lynn Feinberg, AARP Public Policy Institute, June, 2013. “Millions of Americans face financial difficulties or risk losing their jobs if they must take time off to address family needs, especially when adult and aging family members have a serious […]
When employees who provide care for older adults have the support they need, employers benefit in the following ways: employees’ physical and mental health improves; job satisfaction and performance increase; and job retention rates rise. Read Towards an Elder-Care-Friendly Workplace to learn what Melissa Brown, MSW, PhD Adjunct Facult, Graduate School of Social Work, Boston […]
Workplace flexibility is a Universal Strategy that can meet the needs of employers and their employees, which includes when, where, and how work is done. Essentially, flexibility enables both individual and business needs to be met through making changes to the time (when), location (where), and manner (how) in which an employee works. Flexibility should […]
As more people are juggling caregiving with working — including single parents, spouses or parents of people with illnesses or disabilities, and middle-aged adults sandwiched with responsibilities for both children and aging parents — employee scheduling can help these employees be more productive, less stressed and less litigious. Read this article from HR. BLR (Human Resources […]
Allowing Employees Some Leeway Is Good for Businesses and the Economy The importance of workplace flexibility is the topic of this article by Sarah Jane Glynn and Joanna Venator, written for The Center for American Progress (an independent nonpartisan educational institute dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action). Workplace flexibility […]
In a blog provided by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College Melissa Brown, MSW, PhD (Adjunct Faculty Graduate School of Social Work, Boston College) writes, “It’s good business to support employees who are taking care of elders.” When employees who provide care for older adults have the support they need, employers benefit […]
Established in 1996, the National Alliance for Caregiving is a non-profit coalition of national organizations focusing on issues of family caregiving. Alliance members include grassroots organizations, professional associations, service organizations, disease-specific organizations, a government agency, and corporations. The Alliance was created to conduct research, do policy analysis, develop national programs, increase public awareness of family […]
This study, Best Practices in Workplace Eldercare, conducted by the National Alliance for Caregiving and ReACT (Respect a Caregiver’s Time), looks at what employers are doing today for their employees with eldercare responsibilities and highlights innovations. Those who participated in the study shared information about their eldercare programs such as the history of the program, […]
Three helpful videos can be found on the AARP website. Balancing Caregiving and Work focuses on family caregivers in the workplace and features individuals who are caregivers or are working to make life easier for employed caregivers. Family-Friendly Workplaces discusses flexibility, public policies and provides statistics on working caregivers. Employers and Caregivers focuses on the […]
This report, Women and the Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities Facing Women as They Age, looks at how factors such as unemployment and underemployment, pay inequality, caregiving, age and gender discrimination, and education, training, and technology are impacting women age 40 and older. Produced by The Older Women’s League (OWL), The Voice of Midlife and Older Women […]
Kenneth Matos and Ellen Galinsky, Families and Work Institute, report, “Overall, 41% of employers provide employees with information about elder care services or Elder Care Resource and Referral, and 42% offer Dependent Care Assistance Plans (DCAPs) for elder care.” This report, National Study of Employers (NSE), from the Families and Work Institute and the Society […]
This booklet outlines the findings of research about the scope, impact and costs of caregiving and its role in caregiving-related absences, turnover, replacement, lost productivity and stress-related illness. The research also reviews successful strategies demonstrated to help employees better manage the dual responsibilities of caregiving and work. Available here from the Health Advocate.
