As the Canadian population ages and more people live with chronic disease or injury, employers are going to have develop strategies to accommodate workers providing homecare to someone in need, says a family-focused research institute.
According to the Vanier Institute of the Family, 28% of Canadians have provided homecare to someone in need over a one-year period and 46% have provided it at some point in their lives. It’s estimated that people providing homecare make up 35% of the workforce.
Nora Spinks, Vanier’s CEO, says homecare is becoming a common issue for people balancing work and life, especially working couples
“For example, you might have a family member that is undergoing cancer treatment and you need to ensure that they get to their radiation or chemotherapy treatment everyday for six weeks. Many people have to quit or take an unpaid leave in order to do that,” said Spinks. “This is a relatively new phenomenon because, in the past, care was provided by somebody who stayed home.”
According to Vanier’s website, 44% of caregivers have missed an average of eight to nine days work in the past year. It’s estimate Canada loses the equivalent of nearly 558,000 full-time employees from the workforce due to the inability to manage the conflicting demands of paid work and care. A study by the Conference Board of Canada estimates that care-related turnover among caregiver employees ages 45 and older costs Canadian employers $355 million annually.
The tension of trying to accommodate a fixed work environment while dealing with a fluid and serious personal issue can lead to very unfortunate outcomes, says Spinks. She tells the story of a woman who worked in a manufacturing facility and whose husband had a heart condition. After her husband had several medical episodes, she used up all of her vacation time and sick days to help care for her husband. When her husband had to go to the hospital for another surgery, her employer informed her that if she missed anymore work she would be fired and lose the benefits her husband needed. Not only did this affect the caregiver, but it also affected the business. According to Spinks, the caregiver was distracted by concern for her husband and caused a “catastrophic error” in the manufacturing facility.
The problem can be solved, but not enough is being done. According to Spinks, very few companies are properly handling employees who have care-giving responsibilities. The provincial and federal governments are increasingly trying to support employers to provide flexibility, alternative work arrangements and various forms of paid and unpaid leave, she says.
“There’s a cost benefit to this. Every time you lose an employee for failure to accommodate, you’re going to have to replace that employee,” said Spinks. “Depending on what industry you’re in and what position the person is in, it can cost anywhere from an annual salary to three times the annual salary just to replace someone.”
Employers being more flexible with schedules is one solution, says a Vanier-promoted report.
“The flexibility of work arrangements can be enhanced by allowing employees some choice as to when and where they do their jobs. This might include their choosing starting and quitting times, taking time off during the day to attend to other responsibilities, being able to work at least some time at home or offsite, working part-time or part-year schedules and taking a leave from the job,” states the study.
Canada’s aging population is fuelling care-giving needs across the country. By 2030, seniors are projected to account for close to one in four people (up from 15.3% in 2013), Seniors are living longer, too: average life expectancy at age 65 is 22.0 and 19.2 years for women and men, respectively (87 and 84.2 years of age) – up from 19.0 and 14.7 years in 1981.
Vanier is a national research organization dedicated to understanding the diversity and complexity of families and the reality of family life in Canada. Their research includes information on workplace practices that provide a variety of flexible work arrangements, leave policies and supports to enable employees to manage their paid work and care-giving responsibilities.
The Canadian Institute for the Relief of Pain and Disability will be holding a free event discussing how employment and caregiving will change the future of the workforce on Thursday, November 24 at St. Paul’s Hospital. Those who are unable to attend the event in person can watch the seminar live online. If you wish to attend the event either in person or online you can register here.
