Soar to Success September 2020

By Stella Nsong, RN I n an employee lunch and learn, a department head told a story that went this this; “my siblings don’t want to help. I moved in with my parents so I can care for my dad who suffers fromParkinson’s. I work here full time and then I go home andwork as the family caregiver until it is time to come back here. I don’t have time to do anything and may not be able to keep my job because I can’t keep up with the stress at home and at work.” A very large percentage of today’s work force is involved in family caregiving and can relate to this story. Because of caregiving, many suffer fromlowproductivity,absenteeism,poorhealth, and poor work life balance. Poor employee health drives up health care costs. Over the last two decades, an industry has been created for work life balance and many organizations have entire departments but today, people feel more stressed and overwhelmed and work Things To Do When Productivity Is Down & Health Care Cost Is Up 5