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It鈥檚 good business to support employees who are taking care of elders.

In the most recent issue of聽The Atlantic, Anne-Marie Slaughter took on the difficulties mothers face in聽balancing work and family responsibilities. Her article, 鈥�,鈥� challenges employers to consider the business advantages of flexible working hours, a shifting career pattern responsive to demands at home rather than 鈥渁 straight upward slope,鈥� and 鈥渇amily-comes-first management.鈥�

Slaughter cites compelling evidence to back up her claim that聽family-friendly policies improve economic performance.

• 础听聽of 527 U.S. companies published in 2000 found that 鈥渙rganizations with more extensive work-family policies have higher perceived firm-level performance鈥� among their industry peers.
• A 2003聽聽of share price reactions to 130 announcements of family-friendly policies in the聽Wall Street Journal聽found that 鈥渢he announcements alone significantly improved share prices.鈥�
• A 2011聽聽of workplace flexibility showed positive correlations with job engagement, job satisfaction, employee retention, and employee health.

Of course, mothers aren鈥檛 the only workforce group whose accommodation should be of interest to employers. Since Slaughter鈥檚 article appeared, many commentators, notably聽, have pointed out that fathers want and need family-friendly HR policies just as much.

A group largely overlooked in the discussion so far is employees鈥攎ore than a third by 2020鈥攚ho are responsible for the care of older adults. The federal聽聽predicts that the number of Americans who are 65 and older will nearly double over the next twenty years, so聽the vast majority of employees can expect to provide care for an older relative at some point during their working lives.

Caregivers of older adults report just as much work-family conflict as parents do, and they report even higher levels of stress and symptoms of depression.

Why is this? One likely reason is that caregivers of older adults have few resources available to them, both within the community and in the workplace. For example, for every 26聽聽in the U.S., there is only one聽. Moreover, the number of聽聽to support employees caring for an older adult has steadily decreased since 2007.

When employees who provide care for older adults have the support they need, employers benefit in the following聽:

• employees鈥� physical and mental health improves
• job satisfaction and performance increase
• job retention rates rise

What can employers do?

A good start is a basic workplace program of resources and referrals to聽help employees identify and locate services.

The next step is to make sure that employees charged with elder care have聽equal access to flexible work opportunities聽as mothers and fathers do. For some, this may mean working an alternative schedule; others may need the freedom to change their schedules on short notice to deal with emergencies.

Employers may also consider offering a聽lunchtime support group聽designed specifically for employees caring for an older adult. This setting would provide social support for caregivers and a forum for the exchange of information about resources and services.

For an increasing number of employers, designing a workplace that supports the needs of employees who take care of older adults is not only a humane gesture but also聽a business necessity. If you have experiences in this arena or innovative ideas, we invite you to share them here.