Caregiver Questions... ANSWERED
Why Support Caregivers in Your Organization?
Caregiving is universal... at some time everyone’s life will be touched by it!
- Pre-pandemic research shows that nearly 20% of any workforce care for loved ones who are ill, elderly, disabled or special-needs children during “off-work” hours.
- That number rises to 73% of the workforce if parents caring for their children are included as caregivers.
Caregiving takes a toll on caregivers... especially in this COVID-19 era.
- Since the pandemic, 83% of caregivers report that juggling caregiving with work, home/family responsibilities has increased their stress. This stress negatively impacts their physical, mental and financial health.
- It is likely that many of the caregivers in your organization are also some of your most experienced, reliable and respected employees; people you want to support and retain.
Caregiving takes a toll on businesses... by reducing productivity and increasing health-care benefits costs. Research shows:
- Higher health benefits costs: Average 8% higher costs for all caregiving employees; 11% more for blue-collar caregivers; and 18% more for male caregivers.
- Lost productivity: Employee caregivers’ productivity declines about 20% -- resulting in annual losses averaging $6,404 per person. These costs are primarily due to: workday interruptions; absenteeism; shifts from full-time to part-time work; and expenses of recruiting new employees to replace caregivers who leave the workforce.
How to Support Caregivers in Your Organization
Whether your valued associates are employees, policy-holders, or union members/retirees, you can offer them real support with Help4Caregivers:
- An easy-to-navigate online platform
- Curated by a registered nurse & experienced caregiver
- Hundreds of links, videos & toll-free helplines
- Simple, 24/7 access to trustworthy information & answers
- Downloadable caregiving guides, tools & care plans
- Self-care & resilience strategies for caregivers
- Inspiration & encouragement
- The comfort of knowing they’re not alone!
Caregiving Cost to Your Organization
Research shows that employees who care for loved ones during “off-work” hours reduce the productivity and increase the health-care benefits costs of their employers.
It is likely, however, that many of these workers are also some of your most experienced, reliable and respected employees; people you want to support and retain.
Calculating the Cost
We have developed this simple tool to help you begin thinking about supporting caregivers in your organization.
A sound investment in helpful resources will yield improved performance and productivity; greater well-being and loyalty in the caregivers you care about, and the organization you lead.
To calculate your organization’s cost of caregiving, follow these steps.
- Identify how many people you employ.
- Enter this number in the # of Employees box under Cost of Lost Productivity. You will receive an instant calculation of your organization’s Total Cost of Caregiving.
$0.00
This data will be completely confidential. No data will be gathered from your responses.
References >
Invisible Overtime: What employers need to know about caregivers. Debra Lerner, MSc, Ph.D. Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving. January 2022. https://www.rosalynncarter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Invisible-Overtime-White-Paper.pdf (Accessed March 18, 2022)
MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Care Costs: New Insights and Innovations for Reducing Health Care Costs for Employers. MetLife Mature Market Institute. February 2010. https://www.caregiving.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/mmi-caregiving-costs-working-caregivers.pdf (Accessed January 27, 2022)
Willis Towers Watson: Employers expect health costs to rise by 5% in 2022. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payer/willis-towers-watson-employers-expect-health-costs-to-rise-by-5-2022 (Accessed January 27, 2022)
For more information on how Help4Caregivers can help you and your organization, contact us.