More than six million Canadians—35% of the Canadian workforce—is providing informal care to a family member or friend, and employers should do more to support them, says a report from the Employer Panel for Caregivers.
The federal government has launched the Canadian Employers for Caregivers Plan, which aims to help maximize the labour force participation of caregivers and maintain workplace productivity.
SSQ Financial Group has introduced compassion insurance.
The workforce demographic is changing and so are the needs of employees caring for seniors. More than eight million Canadians are caregivers, providing supervision and/or care for adults with a chronic illness or disability, according to 2012 figures from Statistics Canada. Many of these caregivers are employed, dealing with work and, often, childcare at the same time.
Starting in February, Alberta employers will be required to provide compassionate care leave to their workers.
Increasingly, Canadians are taking on more care responsibilities for family members and friends with a long-term health illness, disability or issue related to aging. As expected, with the increased responsibility, employees are facing a number of health and related issues that impact the workplace.
Demographic forces are helping drive up the Canadian workforce's reported absence rates, according to a report.
As our population ages, it’s inevitable that some employees will need to take on a caregiving role in addition to their full-time jobs. In 2007, Worklife Canada estimated that this phenomenon is costing Canadian employers $2 billion annually in productivity (approximately $1 billion in absenteeism costs and another $1 billion to $2 billion in indirect costs).
With the aging boomer population and increased longevity, many employees have to worry not only about childcare but also about eldercare for aging parents and loved ones.
Much of the recent discussion in the benefits and insurance sector has focused on cost implications such as prescription usage and chronic diseases. While there is no doubt that these issues indeed require focus, effort and innovation, plan members’ needs and wants are sometimes overlooked.