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Question: I just learned that my company’s Human Resource department is researching options for back-up care for employees taking care of their families. How do these programs work? As a working mother caring for children and older adults, I am struggling to get through the days. I could use some help.
You join thousands of others in this nation caring for seniors as well as young children. Many employers like yours are investigating back-up care programs for their employees as a way to reduce employee stress and improve absenteeism and productivity. These programs provide lists of providers that employees can access and contact quickly when they need back-up care. Work Options Group, a Colorado-based company that specializes in the provision of corporate-sponsored back-up care, shares some feedback from employees who use back-up care. Survey results indicate that the employee benefit does in fact reduce stress and unscheduled absenteeism as well as improve productivity and loyalty among employees. Below are key findings from the 2008 Back-up Care Survey conducted by Work Options Group. More than 1,200 employees who used back-up care through Work Options Group between March 1 and May 31, 2008 completed the survey. The question asked was, “If back-up care was not offered, what would you have done?” 71 percent would have missed work to provide care for their loved one
14 percent would have conducted an independent search for short-term care
13 percent would have asked friends or family to provide care for their loved one
2 percent said they worked from home, changed their work schedule or brought their child to work. Work Options Group serves as a third-party liaison to link employees of companies with a network of service contractors who can help them provide back-up care for loved ones of any age – from infants and school-aged children, to adults and seniors. One of those contractors who works on behalf of seniors is Home Instead Senior Care, an international franchise company with 800 offices worldwide. The company’s CAREGivers go into the homes and care communities of older adults to keep them independent. Through these types of relationships, you could locate the help you need in a moment’s notice. For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, contact Debbie Witt at 540-260-3160 or visit www.homeinstead.com. For more information about the survey, log on to http://www.workoptionsgroup.com/press_release_survey.html.
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