The Problem: Work and Caregiving Collide
Imagine juggling a full-time job while caring for an aging parent, a special needs child, or a wounded warrior. It’s a reality for millions, creating a crisis for both employees and employers.
The old solutions—flexible hours and family leave—just aren’t enough anymore. As the needs of aging baby boomers grow, our national health and care system falls short, leaving employees overwhelmed and employers grappling with lost productivity.
The CareWise Solution: A New Era of Employee Support
At CareWise Solutions, we believe there’s a better way. Our innovative platform provides comprehensive support that addresses wellness, work-life balance, and caregiving needs, transforming challenges into opportunities for growth and success.
Investing in caregiving benefits isn’t just compassionate—it’s smart business. Improve Corporate focus on increasing high-value employee wellness, caregiving, dependent care and training benefits with low costs by expanding the use of updated legal tax credits.
Benefits for the New Employee Majority – Employees Exhausted by Caregiving
Employers must acknowledge the reality. Caregivers in the workforce are the new employee majority. This is an organizational work initiative, not a family care challenge.
Defining the Underlying Problem
- Healthcare is moving home using family members [1] to support the 70 million aging baby boomers.
- Today, half of all employees are caregivers for aging loved ones. Employers must deploy solutions to retain their workforce and maintain productivity and profitability.
- Yet they are stressed, isolated, and sick [2] as they juggle their own lives, jobs, and nursing aging loved ones [3] in an unmanaged, inequitable system.
[1]Healthcare System lacks Workers
[2] increased healthcare costs of family caregivers
What CareWise Solutions Does For Employers, Employee Caregivers, and Teams
CareWise Solutions offers services tailored to support employers, employee caregivers, and teams. Here’s an overview for each group:
- Employer Support Programs help employees manage caregiving responsibilities while maintaining productivity. CareWise Solutions include training, communications packages, caregiver-related cost analysis and program implementation ROI Analyses.
- Employee caregivers need an easy-to-implement, low-cost solution as part of their employee benefits package with access to over 1,000 resources to support the balance of family responsibilities, caregiving duties and employment. Optional Care and Career Coaching helps reduce permanent forced workplace exits, long-term leaves of absence, and time off.
- Team Dynamics Training and Productivity Support helps teams manage tasks effectively, especially when members have caregiving responsibilities.
Redefining Employee Benefits Plans
Redefining the employee benefits plan to include support for caregivers is essential for several reasons:
Employee Well-Being and Mental Health
- Reduce Stress: Caregiving responsibilities can be extremely stressful and emotionally draining. Providing support helps reduce this burden, improving employees’ mental health.
- Prevent Burnout: CareWise Solutions help prevent caregiver burnout, ensuring employees remain healthy and engaged.
Increased Productivity and Engagement
- Better Focus: Employees supported in caregiving efforts are more likely to be focused and productive at work, as they are less distracted by caregiving concerns.
- Higher Engagement: Supportive caregiver benefits show employees that their employer values them and their contribution, leading to higher engagement and loyalty.
Attraction and Retention
- Attract Talent: Caregiver support makes a company more attractive to potential hires, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities and those with aging family members who will require care in the future.
- Employee Retention: Caregiver support reduces turnover, as employees are less likely to leave a company that supports and values them. Plus, quitting the workforce to care for an aging loved one is now the #2 reason employees leave (after retirement.)
Workplace Culture
- Inclusivity: Caregivers for aging family members now make up more than half of the workforce, and that number grows every year. Fostering a culture of inclusivity improves workplace morale.
- Team Cohesion: Employees who feel supported enhance teamwork and collaboration as colleagues accommodate each other.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
- Compliance: More regions are incorporating laws requiring employers to support caregivers. Including these benefits ensures compliance with such regulations.
- Corporate Responsibility: Supporting caregivers aligns with ethical business practices and corporate social responsibility, enhancing the company’s reputation.
Cost Savings
- Reduced Absenteeism: Caregiver support reduces absenteeism as employees manage family and work responsibilities more effectively.
- Lower Healthcare Costs: Caregiver health costs, on average, are 8% higher than those of their non-caregiving colleagues. Providing support can improve employees’ overall health and reduce healthcare costs for employers.
Improved Job Satisfaction
- Higher Satisfaction: Employees with caregiver employee benefits report higher job satisfaction, leading to better performance and a more positive work environment.
- Personal Fulfillment: Helping employees balance work and caregiving roles contributes to personal fulfillment and happiness, reducing turnover and training costs.
Adaptability and Resilience
- Flexibility: Caregiver support helps create a more adaptable and resilient workforce.
- Preparedness for Crises: A workforce that feels supported is better prepared to handle personal and professional crises, contributing to the organization’s overall resilience.
Including caregiver support in an employee benefits plan is a strategic decision that benefits both employees and employers. It enhances well-being, productivity, retention, and overall company culture, making it a valuable investment for any organization to support a high-performing, caring business experience.
Employee Benefits Provide Leadership
The U.S. caregiving policy is in the hands of employers. If they want to have a workforce that’s ready and not stressed out, they are going to have to lead on innovative practices. — Ellen Ernst Kossek, Purdue University
By leveraging updated IRS rulings, organizations can provide employee benefits for caregivers at little or no expense. During the largest demographic shift of the century, employers must address the use of PTO to fulfill caregiving roles, presenteeism, and increased care-related discrimination.
By implementing care-related benefits through CareWise Solutions, organizations can reduce care-related wastes and reclaim financial losses of $11,000 per employee caregiver annually.
Employee Benefits professionals are on the front line to be proactive in educating colleagues and C-suite leaders.
Investing in the Caring Place HUB is a starting point, followed by employee, team leader and corporate skills development. One step at a time. Every step is essential to build corporate awareness and acclimate for success.
Take the Next Step with CareWise Solutions
Don’t let the caregiving crisis undermine your workforce. Embrace a future where your employees are empowered, productive, and happy. CareWise Solutions offers the tools and support you need to make it happen.
Contact Us Today
Transform your employee benefits program with the Caring Place HUB.
Reach out to us at info@carewisesolutions.org and start building a thriving workplace today.
