Adult Care Responsibilities Costly For Employers
Employees with adult caregiving responsibilities may be frequently absent from work or even leave their jobs, resulting in a productivity loss for employers that could be as high as $33.6 billion a year, according to a Metlife Mature Market Institute study.
Citing survey findings by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, the study reported that more than 44 million Americans have adult caregiving responsibilities, and nearly 60% of these caregivers are working, the majority full-time. The 2004 survey showed that at least 60% of employed caregivers had made some work-related adjustments to accommodate their caregiving duties, with 10% reducing their hours from full-time to part-time. Among all caregivers surveyed, 9% left their jobs as a result of their responsibilities, 3% took early retirement, and 6% left work entirely.
The Metlife study calculated the costs of caregiving to employers, focusing on employees who provide more intense levels of care. This is defined as help for an average of 12 to 87 hours a week with at least two activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, feeding, and toileting, and at least four instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), such as shopping, transportation, and financial management.
According to MetLife estimates, more than 2.8 million male and 4.2 million female full-time employees provide these intense levels of care for an adult. Using these numbers, researchers calculated the productivity costs to employers.
Assuming the average percentage of intense caregivers leaving the workplace on an annual basis is 2.4%, or 168,252 employees, and using a basis of 50% of median salary as the replacement cost, researchers estimated that the total annual cost to employers of replacing these employees exceeds $2.8 billion.
The study also looked at costs due to absenteeism and partial absenteeism. Based on estimates that 10% of male caregivers miss an average of 12 work days per year and 18% of female care-givers miss an average of 33 days a year, the estimated annual cost to employers of absenteeism as a result of caregiving responsibilities was found to be over $3.4 billion. Assuming that 58% of employed caregivers are absent an average of one hour a week because they have to leave work early or arrive late due to caregiving duties, and that 22% of these caregivers are unable to make up the time lost, the annual cost to employers of partial absenteeism exceeds $800 million.
Using similar assumptions, Metlife researchers calculated the annual costs to employers of other types of employee absences and disruptions due to intense adult caregiving responsibilities, including workday interruptions, eldercare crises, extra time spent supervising caregivers, unpaid leave, and the move from full-time to part-time work. Researchers concluded that the total annual cost to U.S. employers of lost productivity due to employees' intense caregiving responsibilities is $17.1 billion. After running the same calculations for all full-time employees with adult caregiving duties, not just those with more intense responsibilities, researchers determined that the total annual cost of lost productivity is $33.6 billion.
Researchers observed that, as life expectancy increases, more workers will be involved in caring for aging family members and friends. While around one-third of large employers nationwide have eldercare programs to help employees cope with these responsibilities, smaller to mid-size companies are less likely to have programs in place.
The study recommended that employers work together with employees and community organizations to develop programs and services for employed caregivers, including workplace benefits, such as flextime, telecommuting, and job-sharing; caregiver support programs, such as respite care and adult day services; employee and/or employer-funded long-term care insurance; and information, referral, and educational programs. Because the employees providing care are a heterogeneous population, researchers added, employers should focus on providing individualized care planning, information, and flexible work arrangements, as well as personal support from managers and supervisors.
