End of life: a workplace issue

Many employers have not placed a priority on addressing end-of-life issues. Yet these issues affect their employees who serve as caregivers to ailing parents and siblings, who experience a health crisis for themselves or a partner, or who care for a critically ill child. End-of life issues affect employers' cost of benefits, workers' productivity, and absentee and "presenteeism" rates, and they can undermine employees' effectiveness at work. Some employers have begun to address end-of-life issues with targeted programs and are gathering data to evaluate their impacts. Potential solutions include using existing resources; training managers to assist employees in need; and monitoring the costs of end-of-life challenges. In an environment where end-of-life issues are politically charged, employers must clearly communicate their motives to workers and assure them that end-of-life resources have beneficial intent.