Ep 3. Sarah Kagan: Caring for Aging Parents
“Many businesses invest in child care. I would suggest to them that now is time to turn it around and invest in elder care.”
-- Sarah Kagan
Sarah H. Kagan is the Lucy Walker Honorary Term Professor of Gerontological Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and holds clinical appointments in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery and in the Penn Center for Human Appearance.
Stew and Sarah discuss the problems companies and their employees face with elder care. Research has shown that middle-aged women are increasingly dropping out of the workforce to care for elderly relatives. These women lose wages in the peak of their careers and businesses lose valuable employees. Sarah offers advice on how employees can find the resources they need to keep working and how business owners can retain more top talent by offering their employees better policies and resources for managing their family and work responsibilities.
Listen below or on Stitcher, SoundCloud, iTunes, or Google Play
Show Notes (times when new topics start)
1:50. The elder care challenges women face. Many women feel pressure to drop out of the workforce to care for their aging parents. Sarah has many tools and strategies for women, and men, facing these pressures.
11:03. Intergenerational relationships. Intergenerational relationships can have positive effects on both the young and old.
13:50. Myths about aging. Sarah dispels widespread myths about older people. They are still active, engaged, and in need of companionship.
19:27. What can businesses do? There are concrete steps businesses can do to support employees with aging parents.
Selected Links
Find a transcript of this interview.
Read "For Women in Midlife, Career Gains Slip Away", referenced by Stew at the beginning of the episode.
Sarah's Myths of Aging Article Series: Myth 1, Myth 2, Myth 3.
Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahHKagan
Share your questions, ideas, and stories by tweeting @StewFriedman.