The healthcare industry is continuing to work around the clock to keep the country safe – specifically individuals most at risk of contracting the dangerous coronavirus: senior citizens.
Senior healthcare workers have been classified as essential for more than a year. In general, they are severely overworked and may be suffering from burnout. This trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable future, at least until a vaccine has been widely distributed.
As if things were not tough enough, the fact that so many other businesses are not operating “as usual” means that there is even more for senior healthcare workers to deal with. For example, child care is something that many families are now struggling to cover. With schools and many activities like sports or lessons taking place virtually (if at all) parents are having to look into alternative options.
Given the great demand for top healthcare talent at the moment, this is a need that you should absolutely be taking into consideration. By helping families solve this problem, you not only keep your star employees on the schedule, but you also help lift some of the burdens that their family is currently carrying.
There are a few different ways that you can help support your employees with child care:
On-site care: This would be the ideal benefit for many parents. If you have space and resources, offering child care during your employees’ work hours has been shown to greatly increase employee satisfaction and boost productivity (parents are less likely to have to leave work when their child care falls through). Of course, there are many health and safety precautions that would need to be taken during this time.
Flexible hours: Senior care facilities need to be staffed around the clock. Depending on the position and the particular setup of your company, you may be able to allow individuals to work certain hours so that they can ensure that a parent is always at home to watch the children. If this is not an option, you may at least be able to allow staff to leave during the day if that helps them coordinate things like pick-ups and drop-offs.
Support stipend: If you do not have the internal resources to offer on-site child care or the ability to offer flexible work hours, you may be able to at least build some financial relief into your employees’ benefits package. Check with your provider to see what you could potentially cover that employees would be able to write off and get tax-free.
By employing one or all of the above ideas, you demonstrate to your employees that you hear their concerns and are on their side. This is the way to both attract and retain top talent.
Photo by humberto chavez on Unsplash