If you’d like to learn more about implementing a work-life program or how LifeCare can create a custom program for your employees’ unique needs, contact us here or call us at (866) 675-3751.
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Featured Friday: Meet Kim T.
Kim has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and over 25 years of social work experience. She has spent the last 10 years working with Active Duty Navy personnel, Veterans and their families. As an Adult and Elder Care Specialist, she assists members with issues they are experiencing with elderly loved ones in their lives. Kim resides in Stratford, CT and is the proud parent of two adult children and one fuzzy rescue dog.
Q: When a member calls, what is the first thing you ask?
A: I always thank them for reaching out to us and ask that they tell me the reason for their call. Members don’t always understand what we do at LifeCare and can be unsure how we might be able to help them, so I often ask them to explain what concerns they have with their aging loved one. Once I get a sense of what they are dealing with, I can structure my questions to get a clearer picture of how I can help them.
Q: How do you approach each call?
A: I believe the most important thing to do at the start of each call is to listen. I feel I need to not only listen closely to what they are saying, but sometimes also listen to what they are hesitant to say. It can be difficult for a member to share their concerns, fears or uncertainty about what is going on with their loved one. Listening can ensure I get to the core of their issue, helps the member feel understood and creates confidence in the work we can do for them.
Q: What is your goal for each case?
A: At the end of each call I want members to feel like they are not alone in the struggles they are having with their aging loved one and also to understand how I and LifeCare can support them in what they are going though. I will always review the plan we have discussed, review the timeline for getting back to them with their referrals and let them know that I and the rest of the LifeCare team will remain available to them.
Q: What are some memorable cases you’ve worked on?
A: The most memorable cases are the one where I have repeated contact with a member. In addition to letting members know LifeCare is available 24/7, I always provide my direct office phone number as well. Because members often share very sensitive, upsetting details of their lives, I want them to feel comfortable contacting me directly if more services are needed rather than feeling they have to share these intimate details all over again. Members will often contact me if more research is needed, but sometimes they call just to provide me with an update on how their loved one is doing. These calls are always rewarding because it demonstrates that a rapport has been established and the member knows they have a direct link to someone at LifeCare who know their situation and who cares.
Q: What is the best part of your job?
A: The best part of the job is the privilege of helping our members through some very difficult times. I always feel honored that they trust me enough to share their family situation and express what they are feeling. Being able to help them though these difficult times is very rewarding.
Q: What is the hardest part of your job?
A: The best part of this job can also be the hardest part of this job. We listen to many very difficult cases. Hearing a member cry on the phone because they don’t know how to help their parents can take an emotional toll. It’s sometimes important to turn to LifeCare’s support system (i.e. managers and team leads) to help process these difficult cases.
Q: How do you connect with the members you help?
A: I feel invested in every call I take. I think listening and empathizing helps develop a strong rapport. Then following through and providing useful information helps members understand that we truly care and can help them.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who doesn’t know if LifeCare can help them?
A: I would advise that they take the chance and just call. With the vast majority of our calls, we can provide some assistance. It may be research for referrals they need, it may be some guidance or it may be just a listening ear. I know from the feedback I hear from members that they are always glad they called and feel less isolated than they did prior to calling.
Q: In your opinion, what makes your role/team so special?
A: On the Adult and Elder Care team we all have a passion for the work we do. We support one another, which is so needed when dealing with the volume of sensitive cases we have. In addition, our team puts on great pot luck lunches!
Stay tuned every month for a new feature on our industry-leading, talented team of employees. If you’d like to learn more about how we can support your employees, contact us here or call us at (866) 675-3751.
These Employee Benefits Make Leaves of Absence Smoother for Everyone
Think leaves of absence are nothing but an inconvenience?
Consider this: implementing strong, clear leave policies and programs can help your organization better attract and retain talent, boost morale, and provide employees with a higher level of work-life integration than your competitors. In fact, the business benefits of leaves—even paid leaves—can far exceed their costs.
This was the subject of a recent Business News Daily article, which reported that workers in New Jersey who were given paid leave protections “boasted higher morale and productivity,” and that businesses offering paid leaves “experienced a significantly lower turnover rate.” Google is just one compelling example: the company saw a 50% drop in resignations among new mothers when it increased its paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, according to a post by Inspire Human Resources.
Of course, none of this changes the fact that dealing with leaves can be challenging. There are laws to follow, paperwork to fill out, responsibilities to be reassigned, etc. However, with proper planning, you can manage leaves quite efficiently, particularly if your organization implements benefit programs that are designed to help smooth leave transitions.
3 Programs Worth a Look
1. LifeCare’s LeaveCoach —A unique benefit that provides your employees with access to personalized coaching and support as they transition into and out of leaves. Designated LeaveCoaches:
- Host group and one-on-one meetings with employees who anticipate a leave
- Provide expertise on your company’s leave policies and programs
- Direct employees to appropriate benefits and other programs during their leaves
- Help employees prepare for the transition back to work as their leaves come to an end
- Provide one-on-one guidance and training to your organization’s managers so they can better support employees who take a leave
95% of employees who’ve used LeaveCoach say they feel more loyal to their employer for offering this benefit.
2. Workplace lactation programs—For working mothers, lactation programs are invaluable in smoothing the transition back to the office. The award-winning Mothers at Work program, for instance, enables your organization’s new mothers to breastfeed while returning to work by providing them with 24/7 access to lactation consultants, discounted breast pumps, breast milk shipping, and prescreened referrals to other lactation resources.
3. Work-life personalized support—A high-quality work-life program, especially one that offers one-on-one assistance through a professionally staffed team, delivers the comprehensive support your employees need to prepare for and return from leaves with maximum efficiency. New parents, for example, can locate reliable child care, which can speed up their return to work. Employees who are planning to take a leave to care for a sick or elderly loved one can work with the program’s specialists to educate themselves on their particular challenges and secure confirmed referrals to senior care providers nationwide. And when parents of children with special needs find it necessary to take a leave, they can get targeted help to find the best support programs, therapeutic activities, federal and state benefits, and even long-term care when necessary.
These are just three employee benefit programs that help you better manage your leaves of absence—and ensure that your most valuable people return to you when their leaves end.
Proceed with Caution on Those Leave Requests!
One last word about leaves: give careful consideration to your employees’ leave requests, even if your company isn’t subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
An Atlanta employer learned this lesson the hard way after firing a worker who requested a few weeks off to undergo treatment for prostate cancer. The employer (who was not subject to the FMLA) paid a higher price for its decision than a few bad headlines—$75,000, to be exact, to settle an EEOC lawsuit. As it turns out, the employee’s requested leave qualified as a “reasonable accommodation” under the American Disabilities Act (ADA).
Bottom line, supporting your employees’ leave requests is often wiser—and can end up costing you a whole lot less—than denying them or simply treating them as a nuisance.
If you’d like to learn more about implementing programs that support smoother leaves of absence, contact us here or call us at (866) 675-3751.
Testimonial Tuesday: What are LifeCare Members Saying?
We are dedicated to providing our members with essential support to help manage their work-life challenges so they can live engaged, productive lives and get the most out of every day. Here’s just a sample of the feedback we’ve received from members this month.
The Truth About Eldercare and the Workplace
The true impact of eldercare on the workplace is being revealed by a growing body of research from The National Alliance for Caregiving, AARP, Harvard Business School, and Transamerica Institute, among others. However, many employers still don’t know the basics about their own employees providing eldercare, including their demographics, their range of caregiving responsibilities, and how those responsibilities impair their productivity, health and careers.
Fresh insights into these issues appeared in a 2018 survey of family caregivers and care recipients conducted by long-term care insurance company, Genworth. Here are some of its findings:
Who’s Providing Eldercare?
- Caregivers are getting younger: 58% are between the ages of 25 and 54, with an average age of 47 (down from 53 in 2010)
- The average caregiver is married, 47 years old, and spends up to 21 hours per week providing care
- Caregivers are no longer predominantly female. The gender split is now 50%-50%
How Does Eldercare Impact Work?
- Overall, 50% of caregivers report negative effects on their careers
- 70% missed time at work
- 62% lost income as a result of caregiving
- 46% cut back their hours
How Is Caregivers’ Health Affected?
- 53% of caregivers feel high levels of stress
- 46% said caregiving had a negative impact on their own health and wellbeing
- 41% reported feelings of depression, mood swings and resentment
How Does Eldercare Affect Family Relationships?
- 50% of elder caregivers have less time to care for their spouses, children and themselves
- 40% report negative impacts to their relationships with their spouse/partner
- 29% say their relationships with their children are negatively affected
How Does Eldercare Impact Finances?
- 63% of caregivers are paying for care out of their own savings and retirement funds
- 48% are reducing their quality of life due to caregiving expenses
- 42% are reducing contributions to their own savings
But the News Isn’t All Bad …
As Genworth reports, many employers are beginning to change the way they support the needs of their workers who also provide eldercare, such as implementing flexible work schedules.
The proof is in the falling percentage of working caregivers who report negative impacts to their work and careers. For example, fewer caregivers report having to miss work (70% in 2018 versus 77% in 2015) and fewer report cutting back their hours (46% in 2018 versus 52% in 2015).
Still, there’s plenty of room for improvement—and that doesn’t just mean more employers providing flexible work schedules. In fact, flex time isn’t the only solution to caregivers’ needs and it simply isn’t feasible for some organizations or for certain types of jobs.
Other helpful solutions include giving employees access to senior care management programs, comprehensive backup care programs, discount programs that cater to caregivers, and financial wellness, to name a few.
Of course, one of the best ways to gain clarity on your organization’s elder caregivers is to survey your employees directly. Not only will you learn exactly how extensive your caregiving population is and the impacts it’s experiencing but you can also learn what types of support programs they need and value most. And that’s the key to building a truly effective support strategy.
If you’d like to learn more about implementing high-impact caregiver support programs, contact us here or call us at (866) 675-3751.
Featured Friday: Meet Lindsey M.
Lindsey attended school at Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where she received her bachelor’s degree in child psychology. In her free time she loves boating on the CT River and spending time with her family, friends and her dog.
We asked Lindsey some questions about what it’s like to work as a backup care specialist at LifeCare. Here’s what she had to say:
Q: When a member calls, what is the first thing you ask?
A: When I receive a call from a member the first thing I ask is “How can I help you today?” to find out what their need is and how I can assist them the best way possible.
Q: How do you approach each call?
A: With Backup Care each call is different because each reason for care will be different, so how I approach a call depends on the member’s situation. But with every call I approach the members with an understanding, friendly and calming tone to ensure the member feels relaxed and understands that we can help them.
Q: What is your goal for each case?
A: My goal is to create the best experience for our members. Our job is to make the members happy and make sure they get what they need so they can go to work without worrying about their loved ones. I want to make their case simple for them and so the member does not need to do any work on their own. My number one goal is to call the member at the end of a case to let them know we’ve found care for them and that they’re all set to attend work.
Q: What are some memorable cases you’ve worked on?
A: My first year working at LifeCare there was a hurricane that effected Florida badly and our members called in at once needing care because centers and schools were closing. Normally we would find our members a caregiver, but because the storm was so bad, even our caregivers couldn’t drive to homes. It stands out to me because it really brought our team together in trying to find care for these members. We had to come together to think of a solution and I believe we truly made a difference in these members’ lives during this time.
Q: What is the best part of your job?
A: The best part of my job is making the members happy. I love receiving positive comments from the members while on the phone with them because I know we have really helped them and have made a difference in their lives, which is what LifeCare is all about.
Q: How do you connect with the members you help?
A: While on the phone with members I try to be personable so the member feels comfortable speaking with me. I also like to engage in conversation about their lives so they feel connected to me and trust me to find care for them.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who doesn’t know if LifeCare can help them?
A: I would let them know the different services we offer and if it’s still not something that they’re looking for, we can always connect them to the right place because we never turn our member’s away. So my advice is to always contact us, we’re available 24/7 and we’re always here to assist.
Q: In your opinion, what makes your role/team so special?
A: I think the backup care team is extremely special and important. Every day we make a difference in someone’s life by helping them find care so they can get to work and support their families. Our team is so special because of the communication we have, each one of us is always there to support each other and willing to help each other out. At the end of every shift I feel great about the difference our team has made, the positive impact the backup care team has on our members and the positive impact we have on each other as colleagues.
Stay tuned every month for a new feature on our industry-leading, talented team of employees. If you’d like to learn more about how we can support your employees, contact us here or call us at (866) 675-3751.
Your Multigenerational Workforce Needs Broader Family-Friendly Benefits
There are now five—count ’em, FIVE!—generations in the American workforce: Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers and Traditionalists. This means people in their late teens are working alongside those in their 60s and 70s in greater numbers than ever.
The fact is, this multigenerational workforce offers distinct advantages to companies in terms of their ability to solve problems, perform effectively and innovate. Indeed, the multigenerational workforce is ushering in a new era of collaboration and knowledge sharing thanks to the increased opportunities it brings for mentoring and reverse mentoring (younger employees helping older ones to learn new skills).
On the other hand, our increasingly age-diverse workforce also represents a challenge to employers in terms of managing and supporting their varied needs—putting together a sufficiently broad benefits package, for example, that effectively supports every generation of workers.
Family-Friendly Benefits on the Rise
As the workforce’s age range has widened, employers have had to broaden their benefits and support programs accordingly. In addition to offering traditional medical insurance, 401k plans, childcare services and the like, employers have been augmenting their benefits packages with family-friendly programs such as senior care management, backup care, lactation programs for working mothers, adoption services, expanded parental leave, financial wellness services, and pet insurance.
These family-friendly benefits are vital to workers’ ability to balance their increasingly hectic lives, meet the demands of caring for children and aging loved ones, and address financial challenges such as paying off hefty student loans or simply making ends meet. Most employers also recognize that providing family-friendly support makes their employees more focused, productive and loyal.
In a recent press release from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, associate vice president of content, Julie Stich, said, “There is definitely a growing trend of employers providing family-friendly benefits,” referring to a study the Foundation conducted that showed a steady, across-the-board increase in these benefits in recent years. Specific benefits that have seen increases in the past two years include: dependent care flexible spending accounts, resource and referral services for child care, financial assistance for adoption, and 529 plans.
3 Tips for Effective Benefits Design
When designing a benefits package, it goes without saying that surveying your employees is the best way to determine their most desired types of programs and support. In fact, designing a benefits package without conducting a survey is a missed opportunity to align your benefits with employees’ needs.
In addition to surveying your employees, there are three things you should do when planning and assembling your benefits package:
- Know the difference between nice-to-have and must-have programs. This is an easy distinction to make if you survey your workers because you can ask them to identify specific programs that are top priority versus those that are lower on their wish list. While this seems like a rather obvious suggestion, employers often make the mistake of generalizing—deciding all Millennials want flexible work schedules or all Baby Boomers are focused on retirement plans, for example—when putting together a benefits package. Then they wonder why the programs they’ve invested in aren’t being utilized.
- Know your workforce’s demographics. Your workforce is unique in terms of its exact makeup and age range. Knowing your employees’ demographics is immensely helpful as you think about and research the best types of benefits to offer. Once you know which generations you’re serving and the size of each group, you can better determine which programs address their needs and provide the support necessary to keep them productive and engaged in their work.
- Know what your competitors are offering. In today’s competitive talent market, it’s a good idea to know what benefits your rivals are using to lure candidates and current employees away from you. It’s equally useful to know the holes in your competitors’ offerings, as you can exploit them when communicating with employees, promoting your job openings and cultivating relationships with candidates. In addition, knowing your competitors’ benefit offerings might even reveal a few good ideas that you can “borrow” for your own organization.
With a little effort and some insights from your workforce, you can assemble a multigenerational, family-friendly benefits package that will attract workers of all ages … and keep them loyal for ages to come.
If you’d like to learn more about implementing high-impact family-friendly support programs, contact us here or call us at (866) 675-3751.
Testimonial Tuesday: What are LifeCare Members Saying?
We are dedicated to providing our members with essential support to help manage their work-life challenges so they can live engaged, productive lives and get the most out of every day. Here’s just a sample of the feedback we’ve received from members this month.
Why Employees Need Flexible Backup Care Choices
Not all backup care programs are created equal.
Some programs offer only child care solutions, for example, overlooking the vast number of employees who shoulder elder care responsibilities. Other programs fail to provide self-care and pet care solutions, and many programs offer little to no flexibility regarding copay amounts and the number of times employees can use the benefit in a given period.
One of the most significant shortcomings of many backup care programs concerns placement restrictions: employees are encouraged to place their loved ones into specific centers or with specific in-network providers. In other words, employees aren’t given an option to choose their backup caregivers … And that can feel downright scary.
Flexible Options Maximize Choice and Peace of Mind
The main purpose of a backup care program is to keep employees on the job and productive—even when their regular care arrangements break down. Backup care programs give employees confidence and peace of mind precisely because of the choices and options they provide. When employees are encouraged to use only centers that are owned or operated by the backup care program provider itself, or that are strictly in the provider’s network, it actually undermines the purpose and effectiveness of the program, i.e. they may be less comfortable using the program and opt instead to miss work.
A strong backup care program offers employees a wide array of choices among vetted, high-quality caregivers (both center-based and in-home caregivers, as well as those who are in and out of the network) along with the option to use their own privately secured caregiver, such as a babysitter, friend or even family member to provide care. This unbiased, flexible program model has quickly gained favor because many employees feel far more comfortable leaving children, elders and pets with caregivers they know and trust.
The connection between flexible options and peace of mind has been made clear again and again by feedback LifeCare has received over the years from our clients’ employees and our clients themselves. Here are just a few examples (with the individual’s confidentiality maintained):
- “I always prefer to have my family help me with backup care. They know my children, how they eat and how I want them disciplined.”
- “Great to be able to use a trusted person who my kids know and who is familiar with their routine.”
- “I really like the flexibility of using the friends and family option. It makes the transition to work very easy when you have family helping you out.”
- “The flexibility (of your program) gets our employees to work with peace of mind.”
If your organization hasn’t implemented a backup care program yet, you can read about five compelling reasons to do so here. You can also read about the hard and soft ROI backup care programs deliver here. And you can learn how to secure budget for a backup care program here.
If you’d like to learn more about implementing a high-quality, highly flexible backup care program, contact us here or call us at (833) 282-3366.
After Nearly a Half Century, Work-Life Is More Relevant Than Ever
The evolution of the work-life industry has been nothing short of incredible.
At its dawn, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the work-life movement was basically a response to two workplace trends: 1) the rapidly growing ranks of working mothers who needed caregiving assistance, and 2) the number of employees who needed help coping with personal issues that affected their job performance. In other words, the entire work-life universe at that time consisted of dependent care and EAP programs.
Today, however, work-life encompasses nearly every facet of our lives: work arrangements and schedules … job design and structure … opportunities for professional growth and development … personal health and wellness … caring for families and loved ones … even our workplace cultures.
Although it’s been around for nearly half a century, the work-life movement is more relevant than ever.
Blurring Work-Life Boundaries
One reason for work-life’s enduring significance is the line between our work and private lives is increasingly blurry. People today have access to tools and technologies—both at work and at home—that allow them to remain connected to their work. Indeed, more and more individuals use their personal devices for work-related tasks, and some employers actually expect their people to be accessible 24/7.
All this persistent connectivity and accessibility has created widespread work-life imbalance and health problems among workers across the world. This was underscored recently by research from the University of Zurich, which found that blurring boundaries between work and personal life can erode workers’ sense of well-being and lead to burnout and exhaustion.
A recent survey of more than 2,800 professionals by LinkedIn found that half of them report feeling stressed in their jobs, and 70% say the biggest driver of their stress is a lack of work-life balance.
Work-Life Quest Spans Generations
The search for better work-life balance is cross-generational. It might have begun with the Baby Boomers but it has spread to Generation X and Millennials as well. As benefits advisory firm JP Griffin Group points out, all three groups in today’s workforce “crave a healthy balance between their working lives and time spent outside the office,” but they also recognize that work-life balance is about more than controlling their work schedules. Salary, benefits, retirement planning, child care, elder care, and doing work that matters are all part of their evolving definitions of work-life integration and balance.
Over the years, employers have grown increasingly committed to addressing all of these needs, and work-life offerings have progressed far beyond that initial roster of dependent care and EAP programs (although these still form the core of today’s integrated work-life programs).
Naturally, work-life benefits wouldn’t still be around if they hadn’t proven their worth long ago. Among the more recent studies bearing out this merit of work-life programs is the Federal Work-Life Survey, conducted by the Office of Personnel Management (an independent agency of the U.S federal government that manages its civilian workforce). The survey revealed that people who participate in work-life balance programs:
- Are more likely to exceed performance expectations
- Better advance the mission of their agency
- Enhance their ability to manage stress
- And are better able to improve their health
In addition, the survey found that work-life programs have a positive impact on recruitment, retention and job performance at federal agencies. Based on these findings, federal agencies plan to continue enhancing the work-life support they provide to employees.
The Evolution Will Continue
The quest for better work-life integration and balance will evolve in the years ahead, especially as the workforce continues to change (it will comprise five generations by 2020 or so) and revise its definitions of what constitutes work-life balance.
For instance, the research from JP Griffin Group mentioned above shows that younger generations of workers are much more interested in preventing burnout. As a result, they’re already putting pressure on employers to change traditional ways of working. They want more flexibility and the opportunity to design their own jobs and careers.
Whatever shape the future of work takes, one thing is sure: work-life integration will remain as relevant—and as much in demand—as it has been over the past 50 years.
If you’d like to discuss how a world-class work-life program could serve your organization and its people, contact us here or call us at 1-(866) 675-3751.