Caregiving has shown to reduce employee work productivity by 18.5percent and increase the likelihood of employees leaving theworkplace. (Photo: Shutterstock)

As employees' parents and family members grow older, manyworkers take on the role of caregiver. More than 1 in 6 Americans working full-time or part-timereport assisting with the care of an elderly or disabled familymember, relative or friend. Of this group, nearly half reportfeeling they have no choice about taking on these responsibilities.That is why many struggle in silence, choosing not to sharetheir situation with employers out of fear for the impact on theircareer or a desire for privacy.

Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, “family leavefor seriously ill family members” is required by law, but it offersunpaid job protection and the definition of family member isrestricted to spouse, child or parent. This has led to a rise indemand for elder care benefits, and there are a variety of optionsbusinesses can offer.

Elder care offerings

Many employers currently offer an employee assistance program (EAP) whichprovides employees and household members with educational andreferral services for elder care. These services often include freeand confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, andfollow-up services. In addition, EAPs address a broad body ofmental and emotional well-being issues, such as alcohol andsubstance abuse, stress, grief, family problems, and psychologicaldisorders.

Related: The FMLA, ADA and caregiver leave

To complement EAPs, employers also have other options. Forinstance, Dependent Care Assistance Plans (DCAP), commonly referredto as the “day care benefit,” allow employees to set aside tax-freedollars for qualified elder care. While DCAPs do not cover theentire cost of elder care, they can provide up to $5,000 percalendar year in assistance and reduce employees' federal taxburden.

Backup elder care benefits, like backup child care, can also beincredibly useful to employees. Known as respite care, this benefitprovides short-term relief for primary caregivers and can bearranged for just an afternoon or for several days. While only7 percent of employers currently offer respitecare, this benefit's popularity is on the rise.

New vendors are also entering the marketplace in response to theneeds of employees who are also caregivers for older relatives.This support can range from helping employees navigate thehealthcare system to finding providers or facilities, and providingobjective guidance during difficult decision-making processes.

Perks that help

Caregiving has shown to reduce employee work productivity by 18.5 percent andincrease the likelihood of employees leaving the workplace.Offering elder care benefits can help not only with retention andefficiency but with businesses' bottom line too. A study by theCenter for American Progress found thatturnover costs are often estimated to be 100 percent to300 percent of the base salary of the replacedemployee.

By offering elder care as part of your benefits package, yourcompany may be able to avoid those losses through the extension ofadditional offerings to help ease the burden. These includeflexible work hours and paid family leave. While several stateshave passed paid family leave laws, and many more pending, anincreasing number of employers are looking to stay ahead of thecurve by offering paid family benefits. This allows employees totake time away from work to care for family members, includingelderly relatives, without having to go unpaid or deplete theirPTO.

As the demand for these benefits continues to grow, employersare recognizing the diverse needs of their workforce and arecrafting programs that contain benefits and perks to help at allstages of life.

Assess and broadcast your benefits

When crafting your benefits package, ask and survey current andpotential employees about what would be of most value. The use ofthese benefits will deliver the best ROI for all parties.Benchmarking against competitors is also crucial to help with theretention and recruitment of top talent.

And do not forget to communicate what you are already offering.According to the International Employee Assistance ProfessionalsAssociation, over 75 percent of companies offer EAPs, and thatnumber goes up to 97 percent for companies with more than 5,000employees. Yet, a little less than 7 percent of employees takeadvantage of these programs, either because they feel they are toohard to navigate, do not want to divulge personal information, orsimply because they are not aware that the program exists.Rebranding or repackaging of your current offerings can have agreat impact.

In constructing your plan, always consider your financial limitsand company culture and values, as well. The goal should be to makea positive impact on the greatest number of employees withoutimpacting the fiscal health of the business.

Assisting your employees with the care of their loved ones' asthey grow older is not easy. By offering comprehensive elder carebenefits, companies can demonstrate empathy during these toughtimes and ultimately mitigate business impact.

Jessie Campbell is a managing consultantfor StrategicBenefit Advisors (SBA), a Brown & Brown company. Campbellbrings over 15 years of experience to the employee benefits fieldand oversees strategic design and program management of SBA's groupmedical, dental, life, and disability programs.

Read more: 

• States pushing for caregiver taxcredits
• 3 ways to support employeecaregivers
• How to help clients use family caregiverbenefits