The Network is holding 4 virtual sessions to discover the key insights and strategies for creating and promoting apprenticeship programs.
11/28/2023
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Virtual
In partnership with Columbia Threadneedle Investments, City Awake is bringing an exclusive learning and development experience on authentic networking.
4:30pm - 6:30pm
Columbia Threadneedle Investments
Join us for this free event to hear from leading experts on the financial year ahead and what you and your business can expect.
11/30/2023
9:30am - 11:00am
WBUR CitySpace
Designed for mid-level managers and supervisors, this new certificate program addresses workplace well-being through unique, innovative, and actionable methods.
Join our Transformational DEI Certificate! Our comprehensive learning & development offerings are designed to connect and grow strong leaders who lead both inside and out of the office.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.
09/12/2023 -
09/16/2023
Greater Boston
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For nearly 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.
We support small business through public policy initiatives, events designed to connect small businesses in Greater Boston to their peers and established business leaders, professional development offerings, and free small business advising.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
Caregiving can take many forms, including caring for an older parent, a partner diagnosed with a serious illness, or a child living with a disability. According to the Caregiving in the U.S. 2015 Report, the title of “family/unpaid caregiver” applies to 43.5 million adults in the United States that provided unpaid care to an adult or a child in the prior 12 months.
As our population continues to get older, and the number of individuals who are caring for a loved one increases, it’s clear that the emotional, physical and financial impacts associated with caregiving are a growing public health crisis.
A recent survey from the Harvard Business School conducted in the United States of 1,547 respondents, shows 32% of employees left a job during their career due to caregiving responsibilities. Of those caregivers interviewed, more than 80% said caregiving affected their work productivity. They worry that there simply isn’t enough time in the day to be both an effective employee and a reliable caregiver for the loved ones who depend on them.
A 2019 Massachusetts State of Care Survey questioned 420 unpaid/unprofessional caregivers aged 18-75 and revealed some startling statistics[i]:
Many of these individuals are walking the proverbial tightrope, trying to balance providing around-the-clock care for a loved one, while still maintaining a full or part time job.
Balancing work and caregiving responsibilities is part of the day-to-day norm for caregivers, and as a result, a majority may end up making accommodations such as amended work schedules, taking a leave of absence, turning down a promotion, or retiring early. When caregivers feel compelled to quit their jobs, it has a negative effect not just on their individual careers but on the entire economy.
According to the 2006 MetLife Caregiving Cost study, the total estimated cost to employers for full-time employees with intense caregiving responsibilities is $17.1 billion. However, investing in working caregivers has demonstrated a positive return on investment (ROI). Research shows that there is a positive ROI for policies that enable caregivers to balance their jobs with caregiving responsibilities. For example, according to one study from the AARP and ReAct, for every $1 invested in flextime, businesses can expect a return between $1.70 (assuming average annual salary of $50,000) and $4.34 (assuming average annual salary of $100,000).
EMD Serono is proud to join together with other leading Massachusetts-headquartered employers, including AARP Massachusetts, Archangels, Cigna New England, Executive Office of Elder Affairs, Massachusetts Business Roundtable, Massachusetts eHealth Institute, and Seniorlink to establish the “Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition of the Willing”, designed to assess and actively address the needs of caregivers.
To recognize and honor family caregivers during National Family Caregivers Month this November, the Coalition officially launched last week (learn more here), releasing a Massachusetts State of Care Survey and an Employer Toolkit. This Massachusetts Employer Toolkit is designed to educate employers on their caregiver employee needs, provide access to case studies and existing resources, as well as share international best practices, in hopes of helping caregivers balance their work and caregiving responsibilities.
At EMD Serono, we understand the importance of investing in caregivers and recognize that many of our own employees are seeking balance as caregivers. It’s one of the reasons why Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates its biopharmaceutical business in the United States as EMD Serono, launched Embracing Carers™ in 2017 to help raise awareness of the financial, economic, and healthcare challenges that caregivers face, and to serve as a platform to advocate for better workplace policies on caregiving. By continuing to work together, we hope that others consider caregiver support as a critical component to help their own teams balance their caregiving responsibilities.
[i] The 2019 Massachusetts State of Care Survey questioned 420 unpaid/unprofessional caregivers aged 18-75 in Massachusetts.
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Author Scott Williams is the Vice President, Head of Global Patient Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships at EMD Serono.
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