Maintaining a Healthy Life Balance as Your Loved One's Caregiver
Professional home care assistance helps family members balance caregiving responsibilities
Finding and maintaining a healthy balance between your many daily responsibilities is hard enough even without taking on the role of your loved one's primary caregiver.
While caregiving is a noble and rewarding experience in itself, it can also come with many downsides, including the inability to handle all your obligations, take care of yourself and your needs, and find the time for what you love and what makes you happy.
If you are in this situation, you are not alone. More than 60 percent of caregivers who also have regular day jobs experience work-related difficulties and need to cut back on hours, take unpaid leave or come up with an alternative work schedule, as reported by the National Alliance for Caregiving.
Like most family caregivers, you probably think you can provide your loved one with the home care assistance they need and continue with your work routine, but this can lead to some serious consequences, such as health problems and mental burnout.
If you use all your paid time off to care for your parent, you won't have any time left for yourself and your needs, so you won't ever have a chance to actually rest and recuperate. This type of life routine is not manageable in the long run.
Family and Medical Leave Act
The government recognized the challenges of family caregivers in 1993, when the Family and Medical Leave Act was signed into federal law, preventing people from losing their jobs due to their own health issues or the health problems of immediate family members. Unfortunately, this act guarantees unpaid leave, but it is still better than losing your job because of an illness or your loved one's inability to take care of themselves.
If you have been employed with the same company for more than one year, have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous year, your employer has over 50 employees, and you or your spouse, parent or child has a serious health problem, you can reap the benefits of the Family and Medical Leave Act, including taking up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year, which you can take as you see fit.
This act enables you to keep your job and all the benefits that come with it, such as your health insurance, which does give you some peace of mind while providing home care assistance for your aging loved one.
Making Your Career Work
In addition to FMLA, you may want to speak to your employer and try to find out if you can make a viable arrangement. Some employers also have helpful policies, like disability insurance.
Prior to making any decision regarding your work, it is also important to talk to your boss. You should notify him or her on time about your situation and be as honest as possible. If your boss reacts inappropriately, it is good to know that the Family and Medical Leave Act is there to assist you, so no one can prevent you from taking unpaid leave to provide home care assistance to your mom or dad.
Honesty is the best policy when talking about your career future and how that will work with your caregiver responsibilities. You don’t need to disclose anything personal or get too specific but be realistic with your employer about how your schedule and responsibilities may need to change to accommodate your family duties. [Source]
Finding Support & Care Assistance
Professional in-home care assistance agencies like Visiting Angels Gastonia, NC, provide personalized senior care solutions. Visiting Angels can provide part-time respite care, short-term recovery care after surgery, or long-term dementia and Alzheimer’s care. If you could use a helping hand providing the quality living assistance your loved one deserves, consider Visiting Angels Gastonia.
Visiting Angels of Gastonia, NC, is a leading provider of non-medical
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