Nearly half of caregivers reported difficulty concentrating on work due to health-related issues, and many say they have missed work in the past two weeks.
A new study finds that there are considerable workplace costs for workers who provide caregiving for people with treatment-resistant depression (TRD)—suggesting that such caregiving has a price for both caregivers and employers.
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The study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, surveyed caregivers who cared for people with TRD and non-TRD caregivers in the US. It finds that caregiving for this condition has an annual direct cost for caregivers of $29,805. This is a higher cost than for caregiving in a non-TRD group, which was $20,642. In addition, the study found indirect costs for TRD caregivers were $11,121 annually; for the non-TRD group, the indirect costs were $7,761 annually.
A significant cost for caregiving
The study's authors noted that an estimated 53 million Americans serve as family caregivers for family members or friends who suffer from an illness, disability or aging issue. These tasks can include assistance with personal hygiene, preparing meals and feeding, shopping, housework, managing finances, and helping with medical regimens.
"Currently the average caregiver provides an estimated 24 hours of caregiving a week," the report said. "In the majority of cases, caregiving is provided without compensation and sometimes at significant costs to the health, well-being, and finances of the caregiver." Despite these challenges, the report adds, many caregivers do not want to relinquish these responsibilities.
The study looked at TRD as an example of a "hidden" population that requires care. "TRD is an illness that involves a substantial burden on the person with the illness," the report said. "It is a chronic form of clinical depression, which is a prevalent and costly condition involving symptoms and functional limitations that interfere with life activities, including working. TRD occurs in approximately 30% of pharmacologically-treated depression cases (with an estimated 1% population prevalence)."
The study also noted that TRD is defined as a long-term condition that has not responded to initial treatments. It is also costly; with care costs for the condition averaging $3,000 more annually than for treatment-responsive depression.
"In a systematic review, excess indirect and direct costs of TRD compared with treatment-responsive depression were $5,481 and $4,048 higher, respectively," the study said.
A workplace issue
The study also examined the impact of conditions such as TRD on the workplace. "While little acknowledged, caregiving is a workplace issue affecting employees and employers," the study said. "Sixty-one percent of caregivers are employed, signifying that most need and/or want to work," the authors write. "Given the large time and financial commitment of caregiving, an estimated 60% of employed caregivers encounter serious difficulties managing their dual caregiving and job roles. Problems with conflicting demands, role overload, and other issues may exact a price both professionally and personally."
Compared with non-caregiving workers, the study said, caregivers in the workplace have lower lifetime earnings, reflecting in part job churn, or changing employment over time. "Specifically, many caregivers periodically leave and re-enter the labor market, retire early, and/or change career paths to tradeoff earnings with jobs that offer a better work-life balance," the authors write. "Employed caregivers also are in poorer health than employed non-caregivers, and commonly experience physical, emotional, and financial strains."
Some of the findings of the study:
- Nearly half (49.7%) of respondents in both the TRD and non-TRD caregiving groups reported difficulty concentrating on work due to health-related issues.
- In both groups caregivers said they had missed approximately 3 days in the past 2 weeks, with similar losses in productivity due to missed work.
- The caregivers in the TRD group reported more frequent depression symptoms than the non-TRD group.
- In both groups, the caregivers were more likely to be taking care of parents (43.8% in the TRD group compared with 65.3% in the non-TRD group; caregivers in the TRD group were twice as likely to be caring for spouses or partners (27.8% to 12.7%).
Loss of productivity is the biggest factor in indirect costs
The study found that the total unadjusted indirect cost of caregiving was $10,098 for TRD caregivers, compared to $7,959 per year for non-TRD caregivers. Among indirect costs, at-work productivity loss contributed the most to indirect costs in either group.
Caregiving-related work absences were higher in the TRD group (5 days vs 3.2 days)," the report said. "Caregivers in the TRD group had a larger percentage of productivity lost due to absences (3.0% vs 2.2%) resulting in an unadjusted annualized cost of $1,514 versus $1,123."
The report concluded by noting that policymakers are looking at more support for caregivers in American society, but that no policies currently in effect are focused on employed caregivers and the cost of that caregiving to businesses.
"A greater focus is required not only to help caregivers and care recipients but also because employers cannot afford to lose the talent and productivity of this group," the report said. "In the absence of significant employee and business-focused solutions, and a dearth of data on the business impact of caregiving, it is important for individual employers to understand the prevalence of caregivers among their employees, how available resources and benefits are being used, and the impact on caregivers, both positive and negative, of current organizational policies and culture."
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