To perform at our best at work, we need to feel our best. However, it can be a real challenge to take care of our own physical and mental health if our loved ones are unwell. When our child, our spouse, or even our parents are injured, in pain, sick, stressed, or unable to care for themselves, it can have a hugely negative impact on our own health.

In this situation, we can become distracted throughout our day out of concern, become burnt out from caring for our loved ones on top of everything else we need to do or even need to take time away from work to care for them and take them to appointments. Furthermore, research shows we are more likely to develop anxiety and depression, neglect our own health needs, and develop a range of physical ailments and diseases ourselves.  

Our overall well-being is very much impacted by the well-being of our family members. This means that when it comes to our workplaces supporting us as workers, it’s essential that they support our families too. 

This is where an Employer Aid program can allow you to use health funds from your employer towards any one of your family members. HealthNow’s Employer Aid program allows employers to put money directly into a dedicated health wallet which can be used for a range of health needs and concerns for yourself, your child, your partner or your parents, giving you control and flexibility over how best to care for the health of yourself and your family – helping to improve both their health, and yours too.

Having An Unwell Family Member Impacts Your Own Health

Balancing work, home life, and our own well-being can become that much harder if our partner is struggling with poor mental health or fertility concerns or if they have a chronic condition which means they’re unable to care for themselves or contribute to household tasks. Not to mention if your baby, child, or parents are also unwell and depend on you for support. Research backs this up, finding that when our loved ones are unwell, it takes a toll on us, too. 

If you have an unwell family member, you’re more likely to:

Have poorer physical health:

• Studies have found that the strain of caring for unwell family members can contribute to unhealthy sleep, eating and exercise behaviours, higher levels of stress hormones, poor blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart rate measures, and a range of physical illnesses.
• Those who need help to care for their partner or spouse tend to neglect their own health care appointments and eat a poor-quality diet.
• Parents who have children who are unwell are much more likely to have poorer health themselves as well.

Have poorer mental health:

• The stress of caring for unwell family members, including the added stresses of finances, can contribute to emotional distress, chronic stress, and a range of psychological illnesses.
• Parents of children who are in poor physical health or have additional health needs are more likely to end up with poor mental health themselves.
• 30% of parents who have a child with a health need or are in poor health have symptoms of depression.
• Parents of children with certain chronic conditions such as cystic fibrosis or autism are much more likely to struggle with stress and poor mental health.

Feel the negative impacts on your own working life

• Up to 90% of people have said that taking time off to care for family members had a negative impact on their careers.
• 62% of people who took leave to care for family and went back to work earlier than they would have liked say they thought they might risk losing their job if they took more time off.
• Researchers found that a significant number of people were often forced to take leave to care for sick family members, even when they desired to attend work.
• Approximately one in four people have had to take leave from work to care for a family member with a serious health condition. 
• Around 38% of these people needed to take time away from work to care for a sick parent, 25% to look after a spouse or partner, and 20% to care for a child or teenager under 18 years.

The Impact Of Flexible Employer Aid

Parents report that having funded health care reduces the amount of family stress, enables family members to get the care they need, and eases family burdens. HealthNow’s innovative Employer Aid programme is meeting this need, giving businesses the newfound ability to support the health of your entire household through the world’s first buy-now-pay-later platform dedicated to improving healthcare and wellbeing. 

Employer Aid allows employers to put money directly into your dedicated health wallet, which can be used for a range of health needs and concerns for yourself, your child, your partner or your parents, giving you control and flexibility over how best to care for the health of yourself and your family. 

Unlike traditional health insurance that limits what can be spent, allows funding only for certain services, and excludes any pre-existing conditions, funds from your health wallet can be spent on what you need, when you need it – including preventative treatments to keep your family and yourself healthy.

To get your workplace on board with HealthNow’s Employer Aid programme, contact our friendly team here.

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2791523/

https://cdn-links.lww.com/permalink/naj_108_9s_schulz_2172_sdc1.pdf

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12677080

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221008/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2791523/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221008/

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-12591-001

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221008/