Whether you were enjoying the last weekend of summer, or getting ready for school to start, we hope you had a relaxing long Labor Day weekend. Though Labor Day is most often associated with the beginning of the new school year, we got to thinking about what Labor Day is really about.
Created in 1882, Labor Day is a yearly tribute to the contributions that workers have made to our country. At Lotsa Helping Hands, we hear from so many of our members who are balancing their careers and work life, with caring for a loved one or volunteering in their Community. It’s a lot to balance!
Just One Caregiver Story – Among the Many
When I think about caregivers trying to balance so much, I often am reminded of one of our members named Margaret.
I spoke with Margaret one afternoon about her experience as a caregiver. She told me about her mother’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease, and how she began to care for her. After about a year she moved mom into her home. Within another year’s time, she and her husband received devastating news that he had a terminal illness. Margaret’s caregiving role had just changed dramatically. At the time of his diagnosis she had been a successful Vice President at a Fortune 500 company. Within three months Margaret left her job. She and her husband downsized and began their journey. Margaret recalled for me being very overwhelmed, not only by her caregiving duties but by the abundance of help she was being offered by friends, family, colleagues, neighbors – those people in her life who came to her side, dropped off meals, left voicemails saying – what can I do to help?
By tapping into that help, through community, they continue to push through.
At some point in our lives, most of us become caregivers. Our nation’s employees will too. And, they will need a break, a time out, a few moments to catch their breath. They will need a way to organize and coordinate and keep their loved ones informed so that they can remain productive and happy in their work life.
In our effort to help people organize daily life during times of medical crisis or caregiver exhaustion, we’ve partnered with companies to bring a version of Lotsa Helping Hands to their employees to make life easier, reduce stress and increase overall productivity.
How do you balance your work life with family, caring for a loved one, or helping out a friend? Let us know in the comments below. And, be sure to check out our resources for caregiving employees.