New report unveils a personal, expensive, invisible challenge for workers
Benefits on elder care needs are falling short of employees' expectations, according to HR leaders, in a new report that revealed an "invisible" crisis facing the workplace's Sandwich Generation.
Findings from new LegalShield research showed that only 37% of HR executives feel confident that their current benefits meet elder care needs.
According to the poll, current voluntary benefits cover employees' parents only 37% of the time, and parents-in-law only 24%.
Even in workplaces where parent coverage is requested, the report found that 17% of these firms are still not offering parent-covering benefits.
'Invisible' crisis of Sandwich Generation
Employees most hit by gaps in elder care needs belong to the Sandwich Generation, middle-aged adults who are taking care of their ageing parents and their own children.
LegalShield's findings revealed that elder-care-related requests for legal assistance have more than doubled, up 108%.
It observed, however, that nearly half of its elder care callers are Millennials and Gen X members, instead of much older individuals. These callers were asking about powers of attorney, healthcare directives, conservatorships, wills, and estate planning.
"People come to me when situations are already complicated, when a parent has been diagnosed with a severe illness, when no one has a power of attorney in place, when the family is trying to make decisions and has no legal authority to do so," said Rebecca Carter, a LegalShield provider attorney and a member of the Sandwich Generation herself.
"Most of them are working full time. Most of them had no idea this was coming. And almost none of them had anywhere to turn until it was already a crisis."
The challenge of elder care for the Sandwich Generation is also bleeding into their careers, according to the report.
Nearly one in four employees said they had considered leaving the workforce because of caregiving, more than 20% turned down a promotion, and nearly one in five reduced their working hours.
Financially, more than half of employees said they spent $5,000 or more of their own money on a parent's care in the past year. Nearly 40% also cut their own savings or retirement contributions, according to the poll.
Despite these career challenges, only half of the Sandwich Generation said they only raise caregiving concerns to employers when they have to, attributing their silence to worries about how their problems will affect their careers.
"I have been handling HR issues for decades and I have never seen a workforce issue that is this personal, this expensive, and this invisible at the same time," said Bill Thrush, a LegalShield provider attorney at Friedman, Framme & Thrush, whose firm also serves as its own de facto HR resource for staff navigating elder care.
But HR leaders are already aware of this problem, with 86% of them saying caregiving has a major or some impact on absenteeism and productivity.
Another 77% said it affects retention and engagement at work.
According to the report, 72% of the Sandwich Generation workers believe a senior care advisor through their employer would affect their decision to stay in the workforce.
"Employees are not asking for much. They are asking for someone to help them figure out what to do next. That is a reasonable ask, and most employers just do not have an answer for it yet," Thrush said.
