57: Strategies To Address The Employment Challenges of Caregivers

Caregivers play a crucial role in supporting and providing care for their loved ones, whether it's for children, elderly parents, or family members with disabilities. 

However, juggling caregiving responsibilities alongside work can be overwhelming and often leads to significant employment challenges. 

In this episode, we'll explore various strategies to help caregivers overcome these challenges and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

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LinkedIn: Rosalind Jones

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Blog: The Caregiver Cafe Blog 

Transcript

Speaker 1  0:01  
Hey guys, how you doing today? Can I get you started with something to drink? Is your aging loved one home alone forgetting to take medicine or pay bills. The caregiver cafe with Roz Jones has a menu of resources to serve your caregiver needs. As a caregiver Roz understands your daily challenges. This podcast focuses on the unique and dynamic issues of caregiving.

Speaker 2  0:24  
Welcome back to The Caregiver Cafe with Roz Jones, I am your host, and in today's episode, we'll be talking about the strategies for addressing the employment challenges of caregiving, balancing caregiving responsibilities, and work we already know is very hard and overwhelming, but the right support and resources and information and education can make your caregiving journey just a little bit easier. Also, too, if you have a strategy, speaking of strategy, what let's talk about that, number one, the strategy for addressing the employment challenges in caregiving is prioritizing self, you have got to prioritize yourself, you got to take care of yourself, you got to take care of, you know, your annual doctor's visits, that's, you know, eyes, you know, teeth, you know, your annual checkups, these things are important for your well being. So you know, which can help you manage stress, because if you go to the doctor on a regular basis, you can tell them about what's going on, not only do you have to monitor things that are going on with you, and as you monitor the changes with your loved one, you have to keep up with the changes with you. Because as I always say your body is a scorecard. It will tell you when you're winning, it will also tell you when you're losing. And so with that being in mind, as you see changes, say for instance, weight gain, or you're not sleeping well or your eating habits have changed. These could be signs, beginning signs of stress or being overwhelmed. And this is when you need to take a step back and maybe go in and see a doctor. Or you may need some additional assistance through your EAP program at work. So it's very good to make sure that you have you know, take care of yourself and also use committee community resources as well to help you with your strategy for your caregiver journey. Number one another strategy to take advantage of is to workpaper place policies and practices that support caregivers. As I've talked about before, flexible scale, scale us flexible schedule. So far is working telecommunication. This is using zoom for meetings while you're at home, the FMLA This is another strategy you can use is important to communicate with your employer about what is going on. So you don't feel like you're a burden to your co workers, nor to your employee. But you're being proactive, and saying, Hey, this is what's going on. I understand I have these resources here. I also have hot outside resources in the community, how can I blend those together to make sure that I am not only productive here with you, but then also to I can balance, balance and manage my responsibilities and at home. So this is very important. So number one, we want to make sure we take care of yourself. Number two, we want to take advantage of the workplace policies and procedures and practices that can help us number three, from a financial standpoint, point. There are resources and programs that can help offset some of the financial burden of being a caregiver. So there are companies out there such as Meals on Wheels, there's also a respite. And I mean, adult daycare does also respite care. And so Meals on Wheels, of course brings in meals, there's also local agencies similar to the Council on Aging, if you need your grass cut, a lot of times there are companies that will come in and cut the grass for you either for free or for a small fee for seniors, also to if you need the house clean or there's some minor repairs, there are resources out there that you can use to make sure that those financial obligations are not impacting us, because these are new bills. And so with new bills, where's the money gonna come from? So you have to be innovative, you have to you have to educate yourself, you have to find resources to be able to offset some of those expenses. Number four, it's important to have a plan for ongoing caregiving responsibilities. Now, let me say how important this is when say for instance, when you start taking care of your parent, or a loved one or whoever you're taking care of that person is pretty much independent. However, as time goes on, we all will be declining in our bodies some kind of way. And so as the as the aging process takes place or as the disease progresses We have to understand the level of caregiving, you're going to need, the initial caregiver may start off well, okay, I'm just checking on you every week, once a week, saying hello, then eventually it could build up to okay, I don't feel like cooking anymore. What are some of the resources for that? How do we make sure that your loved one takes medicine. So this is a point when your loved one may not be keeping the house clean, may not be eating may not be taking their medicine dehydrate it, it could be time to have a caregiver come in. And this can happen in several ways. If you have long term care insurance, number one, you can also use Medicaid, Medicare, and then also to private duty. And that's what my company does. And so with those three options, that person can come into your into your loved ones home, and say, Hey, I'm gonna be here for three days a week, three hours a day between 10 and one to make sure that you know you're eating bathing, taking your medicine and the house is clean. So if you go ahead and implement a caregiver in early as they begin to age, they will get used to people coming into their home. And then it will be easier to implement a caregiver on a full time basis when and if that is needed, when any of that is needed. And then also too, as you are planning for this, remember that the demands of caregiving, as the person ages will increase, the demand for caregiving will increase. And so if they get to the point to where they increase a you can't handle it any longer. That's a conversation that you have to have with your loved one. But then also to with your employer, hey, I'm at the point now to where I'm going to have to transition my mom from home to facility. And so as you if you keep them abreast instead of coming to work, trying to hide it is beneficial for the both of you because then now okay, do you need time to move them, you know, that might be an FMLA leave, or I don't even know if they do this anymore, where they used to give people sick time or vacation time from other co workers to allow you to take care of these needs of an illness either for yourself or for a loved one. So these are some of the things that I want you to know about. Also, too, I want to give you some data on addressing the employment challenges of caregiving. According to a report by the National Alliance for caregivers, caregivers who prioritize self care and maintain a strong support system are more likely to experience better health outcomes and lower levels of stress. Let me say that again. According to a report by the National Alliance for Caregiving, caregivers who prioritize self care, and maintain a strong support system are more likely to experience better health outcomes and lower levels of stress. So when you get the information and the resources and and and you have people that help you, that means your stress level will be down and you'll be more productive at work as well as a better caregiver. So once again, I hope that this episode about the employment challenges of caregiving was helpful to you. And I want to thank you all for listening to The Caregiver Cafe. I'm Roz and your host, and look forward to talking to you next time.

Speaker 1  8:33  
Until your next visit to The Caregiver Cafe connect with Roz on YouTube, LinkedIn and her blog at the caregiver Cafe dotnet. Caregiver Cafe podcast specializes in serving those who provide care and support to a sick or aging loved one. I'm the voice guy, but I'm one of you. So when Roz has on experts or frontline workers, I'm listening. We hope you've enjoyed the show. In the meantime, don't forget to connect with Roz on YouTube, LinkedIn or at the blog at the caregivercafe.net

Transcribed by https://otter.ai