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How to Implement an Eldercare Program With EAP?

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Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are set up by employers to ensure that employees are able to get help when life becomes unmanageable. One of the biggest issues workers face is how to care for their elderly parents. When a spotlight was shone on eldercare facilities, many families needed to reassess how they took care of their loved ones, stretching budgets and having to make difficult decisions when it came to working.  In this article, we will discuss EAP and how it can help your workers who are dealing with aging parents.

What Are Employee Assistant Programs?

Employee assistance programs or EAP is care that can happen when an employee is in need of assistance with a multitude of personal issues. With EAP, issues that come up in the personal lives of workers are easier to manage, and the employees are more likely to find a balance between home and work.

When the employers set up an EAP, it allows the employee to access the help whenever it suits them and can provide a multitude of help. Not only can an employee assistance program help with eldercare, but it can also provide:

  • Psychiatric care
  • Physiotherapy
  • Personal support workers
  • Social workers
    •  

    It is important for employees to know that they can access this program at any time and everything is confidential. Workers do not need to tell their employers what they are accessing the EAP for, which means privacy can stay intact.

    How an Employee Assistance Program Can Help With Eldercare

    Eldercare can be a complex issue. Perhaps there is a sudden health crisis that requires immediate action or the elders are simply slowly starting to decline. In either case, an EAP can help your employee get the help they need.

    For example, if an employee’s parent has a stroke, they can call the EAP right away to get immediate assistance. The employee assistance program will help communicate the issue with the employer so that the worker is able to take time off easily and without taking time to figure out what they are entitled to. By having an EAP emplace, you are helping your employees get what they need even in times of emergency.

    The employee assistance program will also help guide your employees through what type of help they may need by putting them in touch with a social worker. It is not always easy to figure out how to best care for an elder, so being able to access help with this aspect is very important. Once the social worker has figured out what is needed in terms of eldercare, assistance can be organized.

    The biggest thing that a social worker from an employee assistance program can help with is figuring out the budget needed for care. For example, does the employee have benefits that could assist in paying for such things as physiotherapy, personal support workers or nursing care? Before a plan can be made, the social worker and employee will need to know exactly what is covered under the employee benefits program.

    This is where you come in. If you want to offer eldercare for your employees, there are a few things that you can add to the employee benefits program that could help:

    • Offer Flexibility. Employees might need time off or different working hours when dealing with eldercare. By allowing workers to set their own hours or to have unlimited personal days, they can care for their parents without worrying about their job.
    • Extended Employee Benefits. Allowing employees to use their benefits on the extended family, such as for a parent, can help offset some of the costs that are associated with eldercare. This would mean that when meeting with the social worker from the employee assistance program, your worker would be able to set up more help right away.
    • Respite Care. Some employee assistance programs have respite care as part of their options, which can be essential for those dealing with eldercare. It can be mentally and emotionally draining to be taking care of an elder, so offering respite as part of the employee benefits within the EAP can be an excellent way to allow your workers to rest when at home.
    • Support Groups. When going through something difficult like taking care of an elderly parent, it can be helpful to have others going through the same thing to talk to. When your EAP also offers support groups, it can be incredibly helpful for the workers dealing with eldercare.
      •  

      Having these types of programs that your employees can access through their EAP is a wonderful way to help them when life becomes difficult to manage.

      Why Employee Assistance Programs Are Important

      Employee assistance programs can be crucial for workers going through personal issues. One of the most common personal issues workers deal with is eldercare for their loved ones. Without an EAP, it can be very difficult for that workers to maintain normalcy in their lives, which affects their work. The following are reasons why having an EAP that includes eldercare is so important.

      • Boosts productivity through good morale. We all know that a happy worker will get the job done faster. If an employee has to deal with eldercare issues when not at work, they are likely to have a hard time staying enthusiastic about work. By having a robust employee assistance program, you can boost the morale of those workers and see productivity improve.
      • Increased employee retention rate. Having an employee assistance program that can support workers with eldercare will be something workers will stick around for. Everyone has parents who will eventually have to be taken care of, so including eldercare in your EAP is something most workers see as essential. When you provide good employee benefits, you can keep good employees; it is that simple.
      • Provides employees financial support. If the employee assistance program includes things such as personal support workers or nursing care, your employees will feel financially supported. This financial support could mean the difference between having in-home care and nursing home when talking about eldercare, which is a huge deal for those with aging parents.
      • Avoids absenteeism. The more support you provide for employees going through personal issues, the less time away they spend from the office. Workers do not want to miss work for things like doctor’s appointments but will if there is no other option. This can be especially important for workers dealing with eldercare, as any appointment their parents have will be during regular working hours. Having an employee assistance program that takes this fact into account will make it easier for employees to balance their work and life commitments.
        •  

        Employee assistance programs can be incredibly helpful for your workers and the organization. By having a robust EAP, workers will be able to participate in such things as eldercare easily, which means they will also keep being productive members of your staff.

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