As the workforce ages, so do many family members of your managers, hourly employees, and management team who are sure to face the illness of a loved one that will take time away from their job. How companies cope with this absence not only effects their employees today but will continue to affect them as the baby boomer population ages and needs more care. Use these tips to accommodate employees who are also become family caregivers.
Offer Flexibility
Caring for a sick family member doesn't always require long-term time off or frequent absences. For many chronic illnesses, employers simply need to offer flexibility to their employees to help ease the burden for the company and the employee. Start by having direct and open conversations with caregiver employees about their needs both in the workplace and at home. Agreeing to alter employee hours to allow for doctor's appointments or telecommuting options can allow employers to still get the job done and employees to see to the needs of their family.
Understand FMLA
If your business has more than 50 employees within 75 miles, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to you. FMLA offers more than just maternity leave. It also allows employees to take time off to care for their child or immediate family members as needed. FMLA covers employees for 12 weeks of potential leave within a calendar year. While the majority of employees who either add to their family or undergo major surgery choose to take that time off at once, caregiver employees may benefit from using FMLA over the course of the year in the form of a few hours or few days at a time. Ensuring that your company understands the logistics of FMLA and how to use FMLA to provide the most help to employees is essential.
Offer Support
For chronic illness or long-term care giving, absences may not be the solution. Many employees spend years caring for sick and aging family members without the benefit of frequent respite. For those employees, offering support over benefits may be a more advantageous approach. Within your workplace, join an organization like ReACT (Respect a Caregiver's Time) or offer monthly support sessions that focus on the caregivers' emotional needs. Giving employee caregivers a venue to reach out and connect with others can help them carry the emotional burden of caring for a sick family member in a supportive environment.
Provide Reasonable Leave
A little appreciated benefit that not only offers employees more accommodation but also protects employers from system abuse is reasonable leave. Providing sick days is a basic benefit that allows employees to plan for family care without interrupting normal work duties. Take a hard look at your current leave policies and decide whether they're helping employees or hurting them. Restrictive policies that don't include family members in the sick leave may result in abuse of sick time and employee dissatisfaction. Also, policies that jointly encompass vacation and sick time may leave employees feeling discouraged from taking unplanned time off due to family illness. Ensuring that leave is both reasonable and flexible can increase employee satisfaction and encourage work-life balance.
Any employee, from the oldest, most loyal worker to your newest employee fresh out of college, may be called to become a caregiver and providing reasonable accommodations can help ease the burden for these caregivers. By providing flexible scheduling, adequate leave, and employer-driven support, you can help employees not only meet their personal obligations but perform better at work. Use these four simple tips to start an employee caregiver program to better support your employees.
