Wellthy

As experts warn of one of the most intense hurricane, storm, and wildfire seasons on record, it’s crucial to recognize the profound impact natural disasters can have on families and caregivers. When these emergencies strike, they damage infrastructure and wreak havoc on communities, severely disrupting the ability of caregivers to care for loved ones. Roads become impassable, communication lines are cut, and power outages can last for days or even weeks–and navigating those challenges can make caregiving exponentially more difficult. Wellthy is dedicated to ensuring families have the support they need to manage their care before, during, and after weather emergencies and disasters. In our latest blog post, we explore how Wellthy’s Care Team offers vital assistance when weather or climate emergencies strike–including how our team stepped up in response to Hurricane Beryl and other recent storms affecting the Houston area. As Wellthy Care Manager Stefany Pettinger says, “The Wellthy team was prepared to step in and help Houstonians prior to Hurricane Beryl making landfall. Then, throughout the storm, we continued to put together a robust database of community resources, shelters, food banks, cooling shelters, volunteer clean up organizations, and step-by-step directions to reach out to FEMA and other essential services.” Learn more about how Wellthy steps in to ensure families have the resources they need to care for themselves and their loved ones in the aftermath of severe weather and natural disasters here: https://lnkd.in/e8Exkx5t

“Today, 60% of working caregivers report needing to reduce their working hours, change jobs to lessen responsibilities, or even quit altogether. Replacing these caregivers cost companies a whopping $3.3 billion.” These eye-opening statistics from Working Daughter founder, Liz O'Donnell, underscore why it is in employers’ best interests to create supportive work environments for caregiving employees. In this piece in Fast Company, O’Donnell explains why fostering community should be central to these efforts. In a recent survey conducted among working caregivers, Working Daughter found that 90% of respondents believe that having a support or affinity group at work would be extremely beneficial. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), caregiver-specific programming, and support groups empower caregiver employees to tackle challenges and solve problems together—creating a culture where caregivers feel valued and supported. Discover more about the impactful strategies shaping a positive workplace environment for caregiving employees here: https://lnkd.in/enb2cFtx

Drawing from her personal caregiving experience—as well as a background working with special needs children and caring for loved ones with addiction—Wellthy Backup Care Specialist Nicole shares invaluable advice for caregivers when it comes to well-being and self-care: “When you start realizing that all your time is being spent on that person – when you’re not spending time on yourself, not getting out of the house much. Maybe you realize it one day when you’re rushing home from work because you know that somebody at home needs you, or needs their meds, or needs dinner made. You begin to realize that day after day you’re doing the same routine and have no time to rest. If you hit that point, that’s the moment that you should reach out for help.” In this Care Expert Spotlight, we learn about Nicole’s remarkable journey from working in nursing homes and long-term care facilities to providing compassionate care for children with special needs. Read more about Nicole’s journey and her insights on caregiving here: https://hubs.la/Q02GDd1w0

Data consistently shows that “supporting employees’ well-being is not only socially responsible, but a smart investment.” 

 That’s the crux of this JUST Capital piece that looks at emerging worker well-being trends, and what some innovative companies — including Cisco and Medtronic — are doing to meet the diverse care needs of their employees. These trends aren’t just creating more equitable and inclusive organizations, they’re helping drive thriving workplaces where employees have what they need to balance work, care, and life’s many other responsibilities effectively. Read more about the companies and organizations pioneering these efforts and their impact here: https://hubs.la/Q02Gh-Lf0 #workerwellbeing #wellness #futureofwork

Today's care crisis is profoundly affecting the emotional, mental, physical, and financial well-being of caregivers – including the more than one in five employees who juggle care responsibilities alongside their day-to-day jobs.   Next week on Wednesday, July 17, Wellthy’s own Kristin Spodobalski will join Deana C. and Theresa Conti, QKA, APR, ERPA, CPFA, for “A Conversation on Caring for the Caregivers,” hosted by WE Inspire. Promote. Network. (WIPN) Philadelphia. The conversation will dive deeper into the impact of care on today's workforce, share caregiving stories that spotlight how care touches the lives of families, and discuss how care needs show up in today's workforce—especially their impact on women who disproportionately take on care responsibilities alongside their careers. WIPN, a national membership organization founded 15 years ago, is composed of women and “Allies in Action” members who represent all roles in the workplace retirement and financial wellness industry. If you’re in the Philadelphia area on July 17 and want to attend, RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/ewduWAy4

“When leaders demonstrate a high level of care, it unlocks employee performance.” That’s the heart of this great piece from Ted Kitterman for Great Place To Work US, which spotlights the innovation and mission of several companies—including Hilton, Cadence Design Systems, and Cisco—driving groundbreaking work to create thriving workplace cultures where everyone, including working family caregivers, can succeed and thrive. From ensuring that when major life events happen, employees have the space and resources they need to navigate care, to supporting employees in building connection and community and helping teams prioritize well-being, “caring leaders create high performance workplaces.” Read more here, including why caring is considered one of the nine high-trust leadership behaviors, at this link: https://lnkd.in/gRHFTfhb #wellbeing #care #workplacewellness

Six months into 2024, and Wellthy is helping more families with care support than ever before—improving employee productivity, enhancing overall workforce well-being, and helping employees meet their care needs. Join us this Thursday, July 11, to learn about exclusive insights and updates from Wellthy during our live webinar, "Insights from the frontlines of care: Support for employees and families during life's most vital moments." We’ll look at how backup care, eldercare, childcare, end of life & loss, and personal health have an impact on employee work-life well-being, and share data from what we are seeing from the first half of the year—highlighting some of our new developments and how Wellthy is transforming care support for our members, employers, and families. Register now and join us this Thursday, July 11, 2024 at 1pm EDT / 10am PDT: https://hubs.la/Q02FF2hm0

Being a caregiver is a role that knows no boundaries. And when care responsibilities fall upon a child or young adult, these young caregivers often have to sacrifice important aspects of their education and personal development to meet the care needs of their loved ones—often parents, grandparents, and siblings. A new study published by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health documents some of the impact of caregiving on youth and young adults. They found that conservative estimates show 1.6 million youth (ages 15-18) and 2 million young adults (ages 19-22) are caregivers, and that their care duties regularly take time away from education and extracurricular activities. That means that for many caregiving youth, they’re missing upwards of 40-70 minutes per day on education-related activities in order to absorb caregiving responsibilities. That can have drastic long-term effects on educational attainment and economic stability, researchers found, and suggests a massive need for deeper investment, solutions, and policies supporting young caregivers. Read more about the study and how it’s putting a glaring spotlight on caregiving youth and young adults at this link: https://lnkd.in/ecVi2-Uf #caregiving #caregivingyouth #education

Families face unrelenting pressure when it comes to care. Leave of absence claims are rising, the stress of navigating childcare is straining working parents, and eldercare and aging care are transforming the lives of multiple generations as we see seismic population shifts. Wellthy is reaching more families and employees with care support than ever before. We’re gathering important insights from our work alongside thousands of family caregivers, and expanding our vision of care support — deepening our foundational care concierge, delivering an exceptional backup care solution, helping employees navigate leave of absence, and widening our global footprint. And we’re only halfway into 2024! On Thursday, July 11, 2024, at 1pm EDT / 10am PDT, join us for a virtual webinar and conversation: “Insights from the Front Lines of Care: Support for employees and families during all of life’s vital moments.” Our team will cover several exciting developments at Wellthy as we deepen our work to ensure families and employees get the right care support when they need it. You’ll learn about our expansion into backup care, our personalized leave of absence care, as well as updated data insights we’re seeing from our work supporting families with care benefits. Grab your spot by registering here: https://hubs.la/Q02F2x5N0

“I give, give, give, at work … then I fly to my mom’s and give, give, give for a week. It’s getting harder and harder to balance.” As this piece from Bruce Horovitz for AARP uncovers, family caregivers are facing unrelenting challenges navigating care for their loved ones alongside careers, personal health, and so many other life responsibilities. New data from AARP and S&P Global backs this up: more than two-thirds of family caregivers struggle with balancing care on top of so many of life’s responsibilities, and 84% say that caregiving has had a moderate or high impact on the stress they feel daily. This has resulted in some overwhelming consequences for families — cutting hours at work, turning down promotions, and missing meetings or days, even as they absorb more and more costs of family care. That’s led to a sea change in the way working family caregivers get support from their colleagues, managers, and employers — but the opportunities for even deeper and more meaningful care infrastructure to support working families are huge. Check out the coverage of the report — which includes some significant ways companies and organizations can support their caregiving employees — here at this link: https://lnkd.in/emFajpDF