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Eldercare

More and more workers are caring for aging relatives — this affects their productivity at work and increases stress as workers try to balance family and work responsibilities. AFSCME recognizes the benefits of negotiating eldercare programs and services at the worksite. The union provides technical assistance and information to our affiliates to help them start such programs and to find the information and services members need to care for their elderly parents and work.

Profile of Caregivers

A caregiver is a person who is concerned about or who is providing physical, emotional, or financial assistance to an older person. The caregiver may be informal (unpaid and untrained) such as a relative, friend or neighbor; or a formal caregiver (trained and/or paid) working at an organization designed to provide assistance. This fact sheet concerns the informal caregiver.

• There are an estimated 44.4 million caregivers in the U.S. who provide unpaid care to another adult, according to a 2005 study of caregiving in the United States.
  
  
• Nearly three-quarters of informal caregivers are women. A typical caregiver is employed full-time and spends more than 20 hours a week providing care.
  
  
• Between 20 and 40 percent of caregivers are members of the "sandwich generation," caring for children 18 years old and under, in addition to older family members.
  
  
• More caregivers are women (61%) than men (39%).
  
  
• On average, caregivers provide 21 hours of care per week. The average length of care is 4.3 years. Overall, female caregivers are providing more hours of care and a higher level of care than their male counterparts.
  
  
• As a result, women's health, earnings and retirement security are put at risk by informal caregiving. The risk increases the longer they provide care. Women are more likely to report experiencing emotional stress as a result of caregiving than men (40% vs. 26% in the highest levels of stress ratings).
  
  

Why Eldercare is Important to Employers

• Since most informal caregivers work in the paid labor force, informal caregiving is an important issue for employers.
  
  
• American businesses lose between $11 billion and $29 billion each year due to employees' need to care for loved ones 50 years of age and older.
  
  
• The most frequently reported unmet needs of caregivers are finding time for one's self (35%), managing emotional and physical stress (29%), and balancing work and family responsibilities (29%).
  
  
• Human Resources professionals who have studied this issue at their workplaces have found that a majority of their workers miss work, encounter workday interruptions, or have stress-related health problems. HR professionals also said that they experienced turnover or attrition due to eldercare issues.
  
  
• Some large employers have responded to this important issue by offering flexible scheduling, information clearinghouses and counseling or support groups. Flexible scheduling and family leave are particularly popular.
  
  
• Employer-provided financial support, offered by 64 percent of employers, is most often in the form of dependent care flexible spending accounts.
  
  

According to one study, employers who fail to respond to this issue will face unnecessary costs and be at a competitive disadvantage in tight labor markets. The Society of Human Resource Management President and CEO Susan R. Meisinger stated "Employers have an opportunity to either anticipate and manage it in a way that benefits both the employer and employees, or let it smack them in the face a few years from now, dragging down productivity and increasing turnover as a result. Organizations simply can't afford to ignore the cost of this reality."

How the Union Can Help

AFSCME has worked jointly with management and negotiated a number of family-friendly policies and programs for members. They range from leave policies that allow employees to take care of their family members to financial assistance in paying for care. Because demographics show that a significant percentage of the work force will have eldercare concerns in the near future, now is the time to implement programs which will meet these needs.

Publications:

Eldercare: An AFSCME Guide for Families and Unions

AFSCME Guide to Winning Work/Family Programs

The Family and Medical Leave Act: AFSCME's Comprehensive Guide for You, Your Family and Your Union

Statistical Sources:

Caregiving in the U.S., conducted by the National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP and funded by MetLife Foundation (2005)

Faces of Caregiving: 2001 Mother's Day Report, produced by the Older Women's League.

The Society for Human Resource Management 2003 Elder Care Survey.

AFSCME Education & Leadership Training Department

1625 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
 (202) 429-1250
Fax (202) 429-5088
Contact us

Last updated 6/2006

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