title: End of life: a workplace issue.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Pitney Bowes in Stamford,Connecticut, USA. brent.pawlecki@pb.com
authors.forename: J Brent
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Pawlecki
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D009786:Occupational Health Services; D016730:Program Development; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States