Work Life Trends: Forecasting Challenges for Tomorrow

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Work Life Trends Forecasting Challenges for
Tomorrows Successful EAP
Jeff Mintzer, MSW, CEAP, WLCP Federal
Occupational Health Associate Director, Work/Life
Services
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Agenda

• About Federal Occupational Health (FOH)
• The Employer Case for Work/Life
• Work/Life Trends That Impact EAP
• Key Initiatives and Best Practices
• Discussion

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About FOH

• Created in 1946 by an amendment to the Public
  Health Service Act
• Part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
  Services, Office of the Secretary, Office of the
  Assistant Secretary for Administration and
  Management
• Became fully reimbursable in 1984, operating with
  no Congressional appropriations

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FOH Services
FOH works with 360 Federal Agencies

• Comprehensive Occupational Health Services
• Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
• Work/Life Services
• Wellness/Fitness Centers
• Health Promotion and Education
• Environmental Health and Safety

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FOH Program Objectives

• Improve workplace productivity
• Reduce employee absenteeism
• Enhance employee morale
• Improve recruitment and retention
• Develop employer of choice status
• Improve the bottom line

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Human Capitol Management Issues

• Economic recovery will bring new challenges for
  retention and productivity
• Retaining high performing employees reducing
  brain drain
• Managing to higher productivity is key to being
  more competitive
• Managing costs is still priority 1
• Workforce demographics are changing
• 48 of the U.S. Labor force is 40 or older!
• Average age of federal work force is 48
• Employees are more aware of the value of their
  benefits
• A health-wealth connection is emerging among
  employers and their employees

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The Case for Work/Life Support in the Federal
Workplace

• In May 2009, OPM Director John Berry cited
  improving work life and workplace conditions
  for federal employees within one year as a
  short-term goal1
• Child care, elder care, telework and workplace
  health clinics were included as primary areas of
  focus
• Improving work and family balance is a primary
  goal of President Obamas White House Task Force
  on Middle Class Working Families
• VP Bidens Task Force on Middle Class Working
  Families will focus on helping parents keep
  their jobs while balancing family
  responsibilities
• 54 of federal government employees have either
  child care or adult dependent care needs, or
  both2
• 1 Washington Post, May 27, 2009
• 22006 dependent care survey, conducted by the
  U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Workplace flexibility isnt just a womens
issue. Its an issue that affects the well-being
of our families and the success of our
businesses. It affects the strength of our
economy..the workplaces and jobs of the future
we need to complete in todays global
economy. President Obama, White House Forum on
Workplace Flexibility, March 2010
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Key Shifts in Work/Life Trends

• Child care dominated the first 20 years of the
  work/life movement
• Today, child care is still critical, but it is no
  longer the only focus
• Elder care, aging and back up care issues have
  become increasingly important
• The family unit has evolved to a new model of
  diversity and complexity
• Wellness is no longer an optional concept
• It impacts the workplace culture
• Its not limited to employees
• Financial stability has become more critical
• to the workforce
• Flexibility and emotional resiliency are
• increasingly critical to organizational success

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Five Key Work/Life Trends

• Caregiving
• Health and Wellness
• Financial Pressures
• Evolving Needs the Non-Traditional Family
• Flexibility and Resiliency

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Caregiving A Different Paradigm

• Caregiving in the US has become a broader and
  more challenging responsibility
• Close to 30 percent of people in the US are
  responsible for caring for either children,
  adults or both including disabled young people
• Of this population, 73 of them are employed and
  face regular challenges that impact productivity
  and retention
• For the past 3 years, FOH cases related to
  caregiving (adult and child) accounted for over
  40 of all casework
• In 2009, the percent of FOH adult care cases
  surpassed child care cases for the first time
• National Alliance for Caregivers, Caregiving in
  the U.S. 2009

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Caregiving Its Effect on Employees

• The vast majority of caregivers 70 - make
  significant changes to their work situation
• Leaving the workforce, working part-time,
  changing jobs, increased absenteeism and
  presenteeism are possible side effects
• Caregiving has a significant impact on an
  individuals physical, emotional and financial
  wellbeing
• As the baby boomer generation ages, there will be
  a correlating increase in the number of workers
  who will become part-time caregivers for elderly
  loved ones

National Alliance for Caregiving, Caregiving in
the U.S. 2009. and 2008
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Caregiving Its Effect on Employers

• The estimated average additional health cost to
  employers is 8 more for those with eldercare
  responsibilities - 13.4 billion more per year1
• 11 more for blue-collar caregivers1
• 18 more for male caregivers1
• The average caregiver costs an employer 2,110
  per year in lost productivity2
• 18 of female adult caregivers miss an average of
  33 work days per year due to caregiving demands3
• 10 of male adult caregivers miss an average of
  12 work days per year3
• Employee absences and turnover related to adult
  care costs American employers as much as 33
  billion per year2
• The cost to replace the 2.4 of employees who
  leave work to be caregivers is 6.6 billion per
  year2
• 1 MetLife, Working Caregivers and Employer Health
  Care Costs 2010
• 2 Met Life Caregiving Cost Survey Productivity
  Losses to U.S. Businesses, 2006
• 3 National Alliance for Caregiving At-Risk
  Working Caregivers 2008

Its estimated that 73 of caregivers also work
regular, full-time jobs! Source AARP
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Caregiving Programs and Best Practices

• Consultation and Education
• Resource and Referral Service
• Legal and Financial Consultations
• Employee Assistance Programs
• One-on-one counseling
• Work-site based support groups
• Backup Child and Adult Care
• Professional Care Management Services

• Professional Care Management (PCM)
• Face-to-face and in-home assessments
• Facility reviews
• Post-hospitalization assessments
• Customized care plans
• Ongoing care coordination
• Ongoing counseling and guidance
• Worksite education and support

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Health Wellness Current Situation
The number of employers offering wellness
programs has doubled as more react to soaring
medical costs and the demonstrated ROI of such
programs

• Total health care costs have more than doubled in
  a decadefrom 4,793 in 2001 to 11,058 in
  2010and are expected to continue increasing over
  the next 10 years1
• 95 of companies say managing costs is a top
  business issue1
• 7 out of 10 deaths among Americans each year are
  from chronic diseases2
• Top 5 health co-morbidities driving productivity
  losses are depression, obesity, arthritis,
  back/neck pain, anxiety3
• For every 1 spent on programs, 3.27 is saved in
  health care costs and 2.73 is saved in terms of
  absenteeism-related expenses4
• 1 Hewitt, 2010 Annual Health Care Trends Survey
• 2 CDC, Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
  Promotion, 2010
• 3 Loeppke et al., JOEM 200951(4)411-428
• 4 Health Affairs, February 2010

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Health Wellness From the White House

• President Obama praised the efforts of
  organizations that have seen their bottom lines
  improve by giving employees programs, incentives,
  and mechanisms to prevent disease
• FOH FedStrive has been positioned as the focus
  for a holistic approach to effective delivery of
  EAP, Wellness and Work/Life
• Pilots at HHS and OPM will identify linkages
• Access current capabilities inventory programs
• Create awareness market and communicate the
  model
• Engage and deliver seamless integrated services
  on-site, telephonically and web-based
• Measure and report on participation, engagement,
  outcomes

• As a result of many successful programs at
  businesses across the country, workers have
  become more engaged in their own health care,
  productivity is increasing, absenteeism is
  dropping, and employers are passing some of their
  healthcare savings to their workers.
• President Obama

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Health Wellness FOH Programs and Best Practices

• FOH
• Web-based disease-specific Health Risk
  Assessments (HRAs)
• Participation rate approaching 28
• Individualized Health Counseling
• Agency Utilization Reports
• Medical Screenings
• Blood pressure, Cholesterol, Blood Glucose
• Medical Screenings Paid by Employee or Insurance
• Osteoporosis, Mammograms, Stroke Screenings,
  Prostate (PSA)

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Legal and Financial Guidance
The economic situation has prompted a
Recessionary Thread

• 70 of employees are highly concerned about the
  ability to pay bills during sudden income loss
  and 61 are concerned about having enough money
  to make ends meet1
• 51 of employees want advice about investing
  their retirement funds and 38 want advice about
  their financial needs1
• EAP call volumes are 40 higher with cases
  emerging around coping with potential job loss,
  loss of a family member job, financial stress,
  legal stress, situational depression
• FOH experienced a 45 increase in utilization of
  financial and
• legal counseling services in the first
  quarter of FY 2009
• 1 MetLife 2010 Study of Employee Benefits Trends

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Financial Guidance Programs and Best Practices
to Support Families in Crisis

• Recognize and support stress associated with
  financial issues
• Refer to the EAP and other employee support
  resources
• Expand access to include household members
• Offer free consultations with professionals
• Produce educational programs, including seminars
  and workshops
• Support access to online calculators and
  interactive resources
• Provide ID theft and recovery services
• Enable legal document preparation and review

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The Non-Traditional Family New Views
The children and caregivers in grandfamilies
face serious physical and mental health
challenges and obstacles. Generations United
Fact Sheet Grandfamilies The Challenges for the
Second Family 2007

• 20 years ago day care was the primary work/life
  issue
• Theres more diversity in the family structure
• Single parenting
• Grand parenting and guardianships
• Multi-ethnic, multi-racial households
• Gay and lesbian parenting
• Adoption/foster parenting
• With change comes new challenges and great
  opportunities
• Today, flexibility and managing both halves of
  a busy life is more common

2.4 million of the nation's families are
maintained by grandparents who have one or more
of their grandchildren living with them ? an
increase of 400,000 (19 percent) since 1990U.S.
Census Bureau, 2000
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The Non-Traditional Family Challenges

• Employer attitudes
• Require more flexible work schedules
• Financial issues
• Legal issues around custody, support and parental
  rights
• Challenges in getting access to benefits and
  medical coverage
• Health and emotional needs of the parent
• Housing needs
• Changes in retirement plans
• Barriers within the educational environment
• Emotional and psychological issues that impact
  productivity
• Impact on the development and skills of children

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The Non-Traditional Family Programs and Best
Practices

• New Best Practices
• Senior management support
• Recognition of the emotional impact
• Celebrate diversity
• Maintain boundaries between work and home
• Hone time management skills
• Reward performance at every level everyday
• Develop partnerships to support this unique
  workforce
• Develop of a new set of benefits to address the
  needs of new families

• New Best Practices
• Senior management support
• Recognition of the emotional impact
• Celebrate diversity
• Maintain boundaries between work and home
• Hone time management skills
• Reward performance at every level everyday
• Develop partnerships to support this unique
  workforce
• Develop of a new set of benefits to address the
  needs of new families

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Flexibility The Benefits

• Reduces health care costs and enhances employees
  overall health
• Improves job performance and employee retention
• Puts a positive spin on employee productivity,
  commitment and loyalty
• Lowers absenteeism and turnover
• Reduces hiring and re-training costs
• Positions organization as employer of choice

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Flexibility Programs and Best Practices

• Job sharing
• Sabbaticals
• Telecommuting
• Alternative hours
• Caregiving leave programs

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