benefits
Care Package
HOW ARE CANADIAN COMPANIES SUPPORTING CAREGIVERS AT WORK?
The acclaimed film Still Alice won
Julianne Moore an Oscar for her
portrayal of a woman battling
early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. It
clearly illustrates how one family member’s
illness has a ripple effect of consequences
for the working life of all the others, and in
doing so pinpoints an increasingly critical
workplace reality.
An estimated 35 per cent of working
Canadians are also caregivers; The
Conference Board of Canada estimates
that the annual cost of lost productivity
due to workers’ long-term caregiving responsibilities
is $1.3 billion, not counting
those who take time off to look after a
child with the flu or a spouse with a broken
ankle.
“Many are still seeing this as low-profile,
but we see absenteeism, job loss and people
having to take early retirement. And we
see people under a lot of stress,” said Dr.
Donna Lero, a professor at the University
of Guelph’s Centre for Families, Work &
Well-Being, during an expert panel discussion
on the topic in January 2015.
“There is evidence that flexible work arrangements
can have a significant impact
on absenteeism. But even those employers
who have good policies and practices
on the books sometimes see that employees
do not take them up for fear of job
loss.”
In 2014, the Government of Canada
launched its Employer Panel for
Caregivers to identify and share best
practices for supporting working caregivers.
It received feedback from 114
employers representing 18 industry sectors.
The panel’s January 2015 report,
When Work and Caregiving Collide: How
Employers Can Support Their Employees
Who Are Caregivers, reveals that flexible
hours and technology are the tools most
often used to assist caregivers to continue
By Sarah B. Hood
Andrey Popov / Shutterstock.com
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ JULY/AUGUST 2015 ❚ 31
