Connected Caregiving Blog

You may believe you don’t have many employees in your organization who are juggling work and caregiving. It is understandable since most caregivers don’t want their employer to know they are sleep deprived, stressed out, and putting their own health and well-being on the back burner because of the demands of caring for a loved one. Here are a few tips on how to identify working caregivers in order to help them stay more focused at work.

Working Caregivers are very often hidden in plain sight. They keep the stress and worry of managing career and caring for a loved one to themselves for fear of their situation negatively impacting their work and income.  We did a survey and asked working caregivers what they wish their employers knew about them, here are the results.

Providing caregiving benefits as an employer makes economic sense and creating a culture of caring makes good social sense.

At some point in most of our lives, we’ll spend time caring for a loved one. As new parents, for a sick spouse, our own aging parents. Family caregivers are a core pillar of the healthcare ecosystem. Many execute their caregiving duties while still maintaining full-time employment putting extra stress on themselves and creating a challenge for their employers. Nearly 80% of caregivers say that caregiving impacts their productivity. For their employers, the cost is nearly $45 Billion dollars a year.

If you are reading this, you are one of less than half of U.S. employers who recognize the impact caregiving has on a large number of your workforce. The number of American’s involved in caregiving duties is so large, recent reports indicate 75%, that avoiding them and their plight is to your own peril. Even more significant is that the percentage of working adults who are also directly involved in managing care for at least one family member is only going to grow in the coming years.

Let’s begin by being clear about the term absenteeism. Absenteeism is a situation where an employee misses work without prior request or authorization. A planned vacation or period of sick time isn’t considered absenteeism. Calling in last minute because your toddler has a fever or your car broke down are examples of absenteeism. It is a commonly held belief that high rates of absenteeism in an employee population is something to take notice of and a catalyst to implement a plan of action. High absenteeism can be an indication of low morale, job dissatisfaction, and high rates of illness or stress.

Employees who are also providing care to a loved one are less productive at work. Up to 80% of working caregivers admit as much. Connected Caregiving powered by alska can increase productivity in the workplace by offering a platform for employees to manage their caregiving duties more effectively. 

In the current market, there’s a great deal of competition for the best talent. Employees consider more than salary when making a decision about their prospective employer.  Generous paid time off and great health care benefits are an expectation. To stand out from the competition, the most sought after companies understand it is necessary to create a culture that shows they genuinely care and allows team members to bring their whole selves to work each day.  Employees need to feel like they can be honest about the challenges they face in and outside of work while simultaneously secure in knowing their job won’t be in jeopardy. Facilitating a culture that embraces transparency, support, and genuine care for employees can be tricky while balancing expectation and job demands, though. So how do you do it? Here are our tips on how to create a culture of care in the workplace.

Reducing absenteeism rates is a top priority for nearly every company and for good reason.  Absenteeism has a negative impact on profits, productivity, and morale of the workforce as a whole. Aside from the actual employee where the absenteeism originates, a trickle effect happens to the employees who are filling in for an absent coworker. They are less productive, less engaged, and sometimes feel under-appreciated and can burn out more quickly.  

Not to mention, every year, the costs of absenteeism surpasses $1 billion dollars in almost every industry. No company is immune to its effects. Companies with employees who have higher levels of education and experience pay an even higher price when employees are absent.

To make an impact on rates of absenteeism, employers and HR managers need to understand the root causes and take action to correct them. Here are the top causes of absenteeism in the workplace.