New
research finds that 3 out of 4 workers have regular caregiving responsibilities
by
Nancy Kerr, AARP,
January 16, 2019
The
rising costs of health care, changing demographics and increasing demand for
employees to juggle work and care is creating a caregiving crisis in the U.S.
workforce, according to a new report. Many employers aren't aware that the
issue is reducing productivity and adding millions of dollars in hidden costs
to a company's bottom line due to absenteeism and job turnover.
According
to the Caring Company study, which surveyed 1,500
employees and 300 human resources leaders to better understand the increasing
importance of caregiving benefits, 32 percent of employees have
left a job to take care of an older family member with daily living needs. And
almost 25 percent of workers have quit work to take care of an ill or disabled
spouse, partner or extended family member.
The
demands of caregiving affect everyone from CEOs to lower-level staffers, says
Manjari Raman, senior researcher and coauthor of the study with
Joseph B. Fuller, a Harvard Business School professor and cochair of
the school's Managing the Future of Work initiative. Yet “only 28 percent of
employees were even willing to admit that this impacted their career,” Raman
says. “The culture and the norms about talking about caregiving
responsibilities are so deeply set.”
The
study also found a disconnect between how employers and employees view how
caregiving affects job performance. While more than three-quarters of those
surveyed admitted that their work suffered due to their added caregiving
duties, only 24 percent of employers said it affected productivity. However,
many also noted that the resulting absences and time off hurt workers’ careers.
The
report recommends that employers take a hard look at their caregiving benefits
and work culture to see if they are meeting employees’ needs — and if
they're not, to look at innovative solutions to bridge the gap.
“The
last outcome we want from this report is for a company to say maybe we should
do this sexy thing or that sexy thing to make our care benefit package more
current,” Raman says. “Companies have to look at this as a major strategic
issue — you have to rethink how you hire, what talent you have” and if the
organization is set up to support employees returning from caregiving or
maternity leave so they can get back on the career track, she says. “This is
just as meaningful for men who want to take time off to spend time with their
children” or need time to care for an ill parent.
"I
think we will move to a future state where companies pay more attention to
care. I see this with a lot of optimism,” Raman adds.
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