News From the End of Life: Employer manual targets grief help for employees
The Last Acts coalition to improve end-of-life care has created a manual introducing workplace policies to support employees facing a loved one’s terminal illness and death. The manual is designed for managers addressing work-life issues at companies of all sizes, and includes low-cost and no-cost activities.
The manual was developed by the Last Acts Workplace Committee. Its research in 1999 found that more than one-third of employers said they were not addressing their employees’ end-of-life issues well. The study also showed that only 6% of employers offered comprehensive programs for employees coping with dying and bereavement. At the time, the committee developed a set of model activities employers could phase in gradually and cost-effectively.
The manual, "Helping Employees Deal With End-of-Life Issues: A Toolkit," presents step-by-step advice on how to implement new programs to improve the workplace environment in the following areas, which have additional urgency for some workers since Sept. 11:
- corporate culture, building employees’ satisfaction by showing support for their needs;
- education about end-of-life pressures and needs, such as materials, events, or workshops on issues such as aging, caregiving, and dying;
- company benefits, such as long-term care insurance and flexible spending accounts;
- support during critical periods, such as offering paid family leave, flexible work schedules, job sharing, leave sharing, and caregiving support groups;
- legal and financial assistance, including insurance benefits and education on living wills and durable power of attorney for health care;
- grief support, such as employee assistance programs and referrals to help in the community;
- the role of management in identifying and responding to needs, particularly awareness of management’s and co-workers’ attitudes and ways they affect the employee.
The manual also includes listings of resources such as organizations, publications, and web sites that may assist employers and workers coping with caregiving and dying.
Six employers reviewed the manual and offered feedback for its development, including major corporations from the automobile, financial services, and health care products industries. Plans are also in place to conduct a cost analysis on new workplace activities developed in response to the manual.
"Employers we surveyed earlier said they would be more receptive to adding these kinds of activities if they had some models to follow and some help getting started. With this manual, we’ve given them those models," says Myrl Weinberg, co-chair of the Last Acts Workplace Committee and president of the National Health Council in Washington, DC.
"We have begun to see additional companies put general elder care on their work-life agendas. Now we want to give attention specifically to end-of-life care," Weinberg says. "We’re convinced that employee satisfaction helps businesses keep their workers. And especially in trying times of critical illness and grief, support from an employer can make a difference in a worker’s ability to remain productive on the job."
Weinberg’s co-chair on the Last Acts committee is Judy Dale, director of the Health and Work/ Life Center at Fannie Mae in Washington, DC. Dale says, "Our company has experienced signs of grief and anxiety at work since Sept. 11, and we are expecting the impact of that tragedy to continue affecting people for months. The ideas Last Acts offers in this manual should be helpful to all kinds of employers who are likely to find the same needs."
Dale says that even before Sept. 11, Fannie Mae’s two-year-old elder care program, including an on-site case manager, caregiving support, and grief support, has been widely used, revealing complex needs among employees and their families. "The material in the Last Acts manual can give other companies a quick start on setting up programs of their own," she says.
(Editor’s note: The manual can be purchased from Last Acts for $50, or for $40 for employers who are members of Last Acts. It is also available on CD-ROM. To order, send an e-mail to [email protected].)
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