Balancing Elder Care and Work

Balancing a relationship with someone you love who requires special care while also maintaining your job and your well-being involves complex responsibilities, understandable stress ... and potential fulfillment. As imparted by The National Council on Aging, the love for your family member and the satisfaction you gain from helping him/her, may coexist with resentment over a loss of privacy and a frustration with the belief that you have little or no control over what happens next. Clearly, the demands of your employment may not dissipate in concert with the demands of being a caregiver, and having an employer who respects the duality of your life is an asset.

Employees arrive at work as full human beings with responsibilities, priorities and needs that transcend, yet impact, the workplace. Recognizing this reality while maintaining a firm commitment to the achievement of organizational goals can lead to adopting Work-Life Initiatives as a Human Capital Strategy. In fact, these multi-faceted initiatives have become known as Business Imperatives.

As a component of dependent care activities, the provision of eldercare is a real issue for an increasing number of employees. Potential eldercare programming includes consultation, resource/referral, employee seminars, manager training, caregiver support groups, fairs, geriatric case management, respite care and adult day care. Workplace policies which have demonstrated a positive impact upon the fulfillment of eldercare responsibilities include flexible work arrangements, personal leaves of absence, sick leave in support of family care, vacation purchases/trades and dependent care voucher reimbursement.