Significant shame and guilt accompany trying to provide care for loved ones and staying productive at work. Your employees hide in their vehicles as they make phone calls to government agencies to try to access resources. They spend their lunch hours arranging caregiving appointments, so they come back to work hungry. And they take days or half-days off to accompany loved ones to medical and legal appointments.
Instead of taking just a few minutes with a telemedical, virtual 3-way call, many employees report sitting in their cars or storage closets as stealth caregivers. Employers could make relatively inexpensive facility and technology arrangements for individual and TEAM success. But many employers do not grant the time, or they deduct pay because they have not planned for reasonable accommodations that often amount to significant cost savings.
CareWise Solutions™ suggests the implementation of a workforce Caring Place™ to eliminate many of these issues.
What is a Caring Place™?
A Caring Place™ is a private area on-site where employees can step away from their own workstations to oversee caregiving for their loved ones. For example, a Caring Place™ is a small office or meeting room equipped with:
- A door that locks
- Privacy shades on any windows
- Reasonably soundproof walls
- A single employee place and a multiple desk or tabletop setting
- A table or desk with a suitable office chair with note pads and pen supplies branded with the employer’s message to “Step Away to Care” ORDER HERE
- Comfortable chair(s) or couch
- An area with a background suitable for video calls. Consider using an Employer Branded “Step Away to Care” background screen
- An Employer Branded wall poster of CareWise™ Wellness, Work and Care Beliefs ORDER HERE
- An Employer Branded Caring Place™ sign on the door (included free in each CareWise Solutions™ employer branded package, or available for sale individually in the CareWise™ Store.)
Some employers supply a telephone, although this is often unnecessary as most employees use their personal cell phones for caregiving activities. Include this as one of the items to ask on your employee surveys.
Since so many employees are caregivers, CareWise Solutions™ suggests that a shared space be installed with private “booths” equipped with encrypted, HIPPA compliant programs. In fact, many smart companies are already creating these in the conference and meeting rooms for every day “step away” calls.
A direct partnership with a telemedicine company offered to employees as part of the Caring Place™ taps into Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance packages. Please contact Jeannette at CareWise Solutions™ for additional details.
With current needs to accommodate Covid-19 safety guidelines, many workplaces have reconfigured office spaces. Also, with more remote work, many offices have empty rooms. These are the spaces to transform into a free Caring Place™.
How do Employee-Caregivers Use a Caring Place™?
Employee-caregivers carry a considerable burden. For 5 ½ years on average, these employees support their family members with everything from groceries and household errands to medical and legal help. Much of their time is spent trying to navigate insurance and government agency systems.
As a result, they need time, often during business hours, to make phone calls, receive calls and respond to emergencies. And don’t be fooled. They are doing this already. But with current setups, they hide their actions, feeling guilty and ashamed, while trying to still stay productive. This is the core of why estimates are that employers lose an average of over $10,000 per year, per employee in care-related costs.
Indirect caregiving costs to employers can add up to $10,098
For an employee with care responsibilities, a Caring Place™ helps with many logistical issues. It provides:
- An area to take a video call to oversee appointments instead of taking time off
- Privacy to make or receive phone calls to navigate our complex insurance and government agency systems
- A soothing place away from others to relax and regroup, for a few moments, when the stress becomes too much
- A meeting area for care-related discussions with their supervisor that is not either of their workstations
And perhaps even more importantly, the simple existence of the Caring Place™ sends an enormous psychological and emotional message. Employee-caregivers receive the message that their caregiving activities need not be hidden.
Employer Benefits of a Caring Place™
As an employer, when you bring care issues into the open, the internal and external judgment drops, automatically reducing the stress on the employee. As a result, productivity increases, and the organization begins to recoup some care-related costs.
Since 40% of most teams have caring responsibilities outside of work, a Caring Place™ can create a tremendous boost in morale and productivity for the entire team. By reducing work disruptions and backlash from other team members, implementing a supportive workforce Caring Place™ is one of many CareWise Solutions™ employers use to increase productivity and wellbeing.
