Many Companies Now Offer Elderly Caregivers Special Benefits
As wonderful as it is that medical science makes it possible for the average American to live to be 80 or more, medical science frequently makes life extended in this way rather difficult to take. Would you believe that one in six Americans today discovers himself in a position where he has to take care of another adult? It is a tremendous thing to take care of an aging and elderly parent, of course. However, doing so often arrives at a heavy personal cost – elderly caregivershave less time and money for their spouse and children and one is less able to focus on work and expand. Things are starting to change a bit now though; and the push for change occurs from our employers.
Even 10 years ago, at a time when everybody thought that we were pretty far advanced in worker rights just because we had paternity leave for new fathers (just the way mothers have maternity leave),no one had ever heard of corporate benefits that granted elderly caregivers any time off or ones that provided care giving referrals.
Believe it or not, one out of ten corporations in America now provides these. And that’s a figure that’s only six to rise. To a person who is in command of taking care of an elderly relative, among the most important allowances they could receive for work is possibly permission to telecommute. When there are emergencies or when one happens to be in a situation where a parent just needs somebody to be around day in and day out, being granted telecommuting privileges or flex time can be the greatest thing. 20% of America’s companies believe that they plan to offer far more alternatives to do with flex time soon.
Three out of four elderly caregivers report that they have had to stop working or change to a less demanding job to be able to provide an aging family member the kind of care they deserved. Half of all elderly caregivers reported that their family incomes are 15% lower than they would otherwise have been; and that they often lost an opportunity at a promotion because of the position, they found themselves in. To a country that’s long been reconciled to giving up a career to be able to take care of an aging parent, such as corporate empathy can be sincerely welcome.
Most of these choices usually exist only for long-term employees who have a great relationship with their companies. Employees who work at skilled jobs that require competence and qualifications frequently find that their companies are willing to deal with them in these matters as well. Corporations like Intel, Deloitte, Price Waterhouse Coopers and IBM offer comprehensive elderly care benefits – which is the industry term for these benefits provided to employees.
