Eldercare and Employed Caregivers: A Public/Private Responsibility?

Abstract

The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP, 2004) have reported that 21% of the U.S. population provides family caregiving services to someone over 18 years old. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of these caregivers provide care for someone aged 50 or older. The majority of caregivers work full or part-time, and nearly two-thirds of employed caregivers make work-related adjustments in order to provide care (NAC & AARP, 2004). This article examines eldercare issues of employed caregivers, identifies current public and private policies addressing caregiver needs, presents a process model to assist organizations in creating family-friendly workplaces, and suggests social work roles that support family caregiving.

Double‐duty caregivers: healthcare professionals juggling employment and informal caregiving. A survey on personal health and work experiences

“…This situation calls for long-term solutions at both the organizational and legislative level. As recent articles of Koerin et al (2008) and Fine (2012) discuss promising approaches in this field, reaching from family-friendly workplace strategies and policies to care payments and care leave, the most important move many governments and employers perhaps still have to make is to come to an awareness that staff investment is more and more inevitable.…”

The Benefits of Respite Time-Use

“…As well, and perhaps most important, an expansion of more family-friendly workplace policies might allow employed caregivers to better manage the competing demands of employment and caregiving roles, while also attending to personal needs and desires (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Scharlach, 2006;Koerin, Harrigan, & Secret, 2008;Pavalko & Henderson, 2006).…”

Canada's Compassionate Care Benefit: Is it an adequate public health response to addressing the issue of caregiver burden in end-of-life care?

“…Working conditions include job classification, hours of work, work demands, workplace support, and job flexibility [41]. Research has highlighted the need for "family-friendly workplace environments" that provide flexibility, support from employers and supervisors, and an organizational culture for caregivers that values work-life balance and recognizes how work and family impact each other [42]. …”