Nearly one out of every four Americans—over 45 million individuals—provided or arranged care for a family member or friend in the past year. (U.S. Senate Resolution 210)
Long-distance caregivers' average out-of-pocket spending (e.g., telephone, travel, etc.) has risen to $392 a month, compared with $196 seven years ago. (The Wall Street Journal, 7/19/04)
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In a study funded by the U.S. Administration on Aging, 4,000 employed family caregivers were surveyed about their access to eldercare benefits. Among the findings:
Lower back disorders
Depression
Coronary heart disease
Arthritis
Pulmonary diseases
(Work & Family News brief, 7/04)
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Both male and female children of aging parents have modified their work schedules in order to accommodate care giving responsibilities—men: 54 percent, women: 56 percent. (Work & Family Connection, www.workfamily.com; “Sons at Work,” MetLife Mature Market Institute, 6/03)
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The average length of care provided to an older loved one is 4.3 years. (Work & Family Connection, www.workfamily.com; National Alliance for Care giving/AARP Survey, 2004)
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82 percent of respondents (client employees) to a recent LifeCare online poll indicated that an older loved one could benefit from in-home services (assessments, bill-paying, monitoring), from a professional geriatric care manager.
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Working Mother 100 Best Companies issue (October 2004) reports that 98 percent of 100 Best companies offer eldercare resource and referral services.
Employee Loyalty
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The Society for Human Resource Management reported in August that 83 percent of managers and supervisors polled said they would start searching for a job as soon as the economy improved. (“Work-life at 20,” Employee Benefit News, 11/04)
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More than 60 percent of the 1,050 employees in a Harris-Interactive survey say their job responsibilities have increased in the last six months, and more than half of them are working longer hours without an increase in pay. (“Workers report longer hours,” Work/Life Today, 10/04)
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From Employee Benefits News, November 2004:
The average number of vacation days that workers forfeited this year: 3
Workers who took no vacation time this year: 14 percent
Employees who worked more than 40 hours per week this year: 51 percent
