Medical Alert Systems brings peace of mind to working families..
Deborah Russell, AARP’s director of work-force issues, believes that a shift in corporate policy and culture must occur for workers to successfully balance the demands of work and family. “As boomers age, this issue will become even more important,” Russell says. “Employers will have to have resources in place, like flextime and programs to help caregivers at a distance, or else productivity will go down.”
Slowly, companies are responding. Some offer support groups for employee caregivers during lunch hours. Others contract with elder care services to offer programs such as one-on-one counseling, referrals to dependent-care services and at-home assessments to determine what services an older adult needs to live independently.
Mortgage giant Fannie Mae invests $100,000 annually to provide elder care benefits for its employees in Washington, about 1,200 workers have taken advantage of the program. A survey in 2002 showed that 28 percent said they would have been forced to quit without such help, says Senior Program Manager Michelle Stone.
According to Stone, a full-time, on-site gerontologist advises employees on elder care resources and services. She can assist with counseling, long-distance caregiving, financial issues, housing options, even phone calls. “With this kind of help,” says Stone, “employees are then able to focus on their role at work rather than spend time doing the research themselves.”
Despite the recent attention, a stigma in the work place remains attached to elder care, according to NAC president Gail Hunt. “People are afraid that when their companies are downsizing, they’ll be remembered for taking time off to care for their mother,” Hunt says.
Gerontologist Eichelbaum believes that companies that do adopt compassionate policies are bound to get more satisfied, loyal and productive workers in return. “It would be nice to work in an environment where people understand your challenges, where your boss understands,” she says. “When companies are compassionate, everybody works harder.”
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