Headline News
Study of Corporate-Sponsored Eldercare Finds GCM Programs Improve Presenteeism of Working Caregivers

LifeCare has issued the findings of an 18-month study of the impact of workplace eldercare programs entitled, “Corporate Eldercare Programs: Their Impact, Effectiveness and the Implications for Employers.” Among the study's key findings is that the presenteeism levels of working caregivers improved over time when they used a geriatric care management (GCM) program. Presenteeism is defined in this study as being focused and on-task while at work.

Complete results of the study are available on LifeCare's web site and will be shared in greater depth with attendees of the “Aging In America” conference (hosted by the National Council on Aging and the American Society on Aging), which takes place in Washington, DC, March 26 through 30. LifeCare's session will be held on Friday, March 28. Details about the conference are available at www.agingconference.org.

The study examined the “presenteeism” levels of employees at a large healthcare company who care for aging loved ones, the extent to which they needed to make changes to their normal work schedules, their perceived levels of caregiving burden, their self-reported health, and their attitudes toward the support their employers provided. Employees who participated in the study fell into three basic categories: (1) users of a resource and referral program, (2) users of a geriatric care management program; and (3) employees who used no programs for assistance. The study was designed and conducted by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the Center for Productive Aging, Towson University, program faculty and staff, and it was funded by LifeCare.

Key findings of the study, especially for the nation's employers, include:

	Presenteeism improved over time for users of geriatric care management (GCM) programs.
	Users of GCM programs also were less likely to report negative caregiving impacts on their work performance than resource and referral users and individuals who do not use support programs at all.
	Regarding their self-reported health, GCM users are more likely than the other two groups to report that their health is “excellent,” and fewer GCM users report experiencing a change in their health during caregiving.
	All three groups of employee caregivers commonly feel that the use of caregiving programs is something to delay until a crisis arises.

The study also found that 70 percent of caregiving employees report taking time off from work to attend to caregiving responsibilities.