Goals:
To encourage employers to be sympathetic to workers who are caring for relatives in order to ensure optimal care for older adults while preserving the quality of life of the caregiver, and protecting healthy family functioning.
The Need:
There are about 1.5 million people in Israel who are caring for a relative due to an acute or chronic illness, mental problems, or functional decline in old age. The treatment period, which has been lengthened over the years from improvements in medical technology and increased life expectancy, poses emotional, financial, bureaucratic, occupational, and health challenges for the caregiver.
About 60 percent of family caregivers have jobs and find themselves torn between work and looking after their loved ones. Many reduce their workload, avoid promotion, and even resign for the purpose of providing care, and this has a negative impact both on them and on their workplace.
Many employers understand this problem and adopt policies that offer support and guidance to accessing community services, enabling employees to continue functioning in both their professional and personal lives.
Target Population:
CEOs, human resources executives, and those in charge of social services at companies and organizations that want to help family caregivers
Activities:
The plan is in the development stage. It includes:
- Helping businesses and organizations become more supportive of employees who are family caregivers
- A training course provided by national social services for family caregivers in the civil service
- Promoting supportive national policies for family caregivers
- Engaging the Manufacturers Association and other employers’ organizations in the process
