The subject of this month's interview, Veronica Woldt, is owner and principal of Corporate Eldercare Solutions www.corporateeldercaresolutions.com She conducts customized needs analyses of corporate employees to determine the level of benefits/assistance needed to address elder care issues in the workplace. This venture is an outgrowth of the research she conducted as a requirement for her masters degree in gerontology from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, WI. The title of her research paper is "An Exploratory Study of Corporate Employees with Eldercare Challenges."

"The primary goal of my research was to have employees at a company respond to a survey about their caregiving experiences - to determine whether or not those experiences were having an impact on their productivity. I was particularly interested in quantifiable impacts for the employer - like increased healthcare costs," says Woldt. "I found that there is very little literature on caregivers of older adults in the workplace - and what the costs are to employers."

"My study involved a small sample size, mainly due to the physical layout of the company I chose to work with. I had decided to conduct in-person interviews."

"My one significant finding is that employed caregivers who have dependent children at home were significantly more likely to become ill since becoming a caregiver."

"Also notable:

• Three out of seven employees who also had dependent children at home said that caregiving had a 100% impact on their life at home. The scale used asked the respondent to estimate the impact that caregiving has had on their lives. This indicates that caregiving is having a near constant impact on their personal lives.
• The study confirms that additional duties that employed caregivers carry out on behalf of the care recipient do have an increased impact on work/life.
• No female respondent rated the impact of caregiving on work/life as less than 20%
• Male caregivers were less likely to respond that caregiving had a significant impact in the last six months.
• Eight out of nine women agreed that caregiving responsibilities disturbed their sleep."

"It would behoove corporations and EAPs to look into this area more closely because having a better understanding of employee caregiver needs will better position the employers to save money through increased productivity and retention of productive employees. There are also savings on recruitment costs. A focus on elder care will also better position EAP's to respond to the needs of the aging workforce."

"There is a tremendous need to do more research into the healthcare costs associated with caregiving and work. There is a least one study that has shown that 50% of employed caregivers surveyed reported an additional eight visits per year to a healthcare provider. We need more data to make the cost-effectiveness argument to employers," says Woldt.

For more information, contact Ms. Woldt at veronica@corporateeldersolutions.com