Employment/Work/Life/Balance

Employment/Work/Life/Balance – Working family caregivers are under a high degree of stress.  Employers experience lost time and lost revenue resulting from poor job performance of distracted family caregivers.   It’s not uncommon for a parent to call a family caregiver multiple times in a single day or to need transportation to appointments or support with other aspects of care.  How does a working caregiver balance the needs of family and employer? How do employers survive distracted and grieving employees?  Is providing education and support for caregivers a solution?

How many of us work, work, work with little free time or we work and have no interests that really inspire our hearts.  If you could make a significant difference in the life of an older adult by giving one or two hours a week of your time, would this interest you?

What would you do if your loved one became ill, was no longer able to provide care for him or herself and you felt you were the only one who could care for them? Helping a loved one who needs twenty-four hour care at home verses the idea (and even the benefit) of moving the individual to a care community may be one of the most emotional decisions of your life.  What many caregivers fail to consider is that if you do not care for yourself you’ll fail in your attempts to provide care for your loved one.  Below are 10 tips to help you navigate the caregiving role.

Naive caregivers often make poor choices to “opt out” of the workforce.  Realize the consequences of your actions before you make a choice that will negatively affect your future.

Women are the main caregivers, yet when women need care there is no one left to provide the care or there is no money to pay for care.  A study shows that among those 85 and older, the percentage of men and women who need assistance is 56% of women and 38% of men.  Many of these women live their last days in nursing homes.  The percentage of males requiring assistance is lower because fewer men than women live until the age of 85. On average women live 13 or more years beyond their male counterparts and are the main caregivers for spouses.

Interview with Dr. Steven Smith, Physician, Florida Keys
(podcast 7:40 playing time)
Click below to listen:

I recently attended a meeting where the presentation topic was presence; presence in our personal lives and presence in the work environment. To my surprise, the presenter cited research that nurses feel that they bear a badge of honor to sacrifice their good health and mental well-being to care for others.  Being curious, I researched this and discovered one example of this concept in the following:

Achieving a work-life balance is challenging for many individuals depending on life-stage: some employees may be raising children, others experiencing health issues of their own, some supporting adult children with the care of grandchildren, or caring for aging parents. Companies experience financial costs related to a lack of presenteeism at work meaning the degree to which an employee is present and attentive to the work at hand or the degree to which the employee’s attention span wanders in favor of worry or focus on family and personal concerns. Other challenges experienced include lost time due to employee illness or caregiving for children or other family members. Poor health costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year in lost productivity due to issues of presenteeism and illness.