Imagine you were out for a walk and found a drill along the road. You take it home, clean it up, and it works perfectly. Granted, there are few nicks and dings in the finish, but it still serves its purpose – drilling holes. You wonder, why would someone throw out this drill?
Over fifty million people are believed to be living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias worldwide. Are our loved ones diagnosed with early to mid-stages of dementia to become like that drill, able to function yet tossed aside and deemed useless by society?
Work Initiative
On January 21, 2025, I participated in an interview with Price of Business Host Kevin Price, “I Just Want To Work” Says Dad-With-Dementia. Kevin and I discussed the possibility of employing people with early to mid-level dementia. I shared about my dad, diagnosed with dementia, yet determined to keep working. Eventually our family had to move him out of the office he rented, and we were unable to identify work for him from home. Transportation contributed to the problem as he lived in a suburb and could no longer drive.
Dad has been gone a decade now, but the question still haunts me, “How will I work?” This is why my new initiative is twofold:
- To ask employers to consider ways they can either extend or modify an employees’ work, or to consider developing jobs for those with a dementia diagnosis.
- To encourage caregivers to give thought to the question that may come from their loved one: “How will I work? What will give meaning to my life?”
In this first follow-up article to my conversation with Kevin, I discuss why we need to maintain or develop jobs for people with dementia.
Dementia Background
When we use the term dementia, we are looking at an umbrella term like cancer. There are many types of cancer and dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common dementia, but there are over four hundred types, including vascular, Lewy body, Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s with dementia.
According to Alzheimer’s Disease International someone in the world develops dementia every 3 seconds. This number is multiplying, and they project that by 2030 there will be seventy-eight million people with dementia in the world.
This is not just a problem for individuals and families. According to Alzheimer’s Disease International the annual global cost of dementia is expected to rise to 2.8 trillion in U.S. dollars by 2030.
Global Labor Shortage
There is another global problem, the labor shortage. Ranstad, a global leader in the human services industry, reports there will be an estimated shortage of eighty-five million workers around the globe by 2030. Reasons for this include deaths and long-term side effects from COVID-19, an aging workforce, wage issues, and more. Suffice it to say the shortage already exists.
We must ask, “What can society do to address a global labor shortage?”
During my interview with Kevin, I mentioned solutions found in the Netherlands and Japan to provide work with people with dementia. We also discussed existing infrastructure in companies that employ people with disabilities such as Down syndrome. How can we adapt these processes, and expand the opportunities for those with these brain diseases?
Addressing Societal Problems
Allowing people with early to mid-dementia to work could address multiple world-wide societal problems, including the practical problem of filling jobs in the labor force, supplementing incomes of the aging population, and possibly delaying the need to house people in institutional settings.
Purpose
Employment is not just about money. As with my dad, his work gave his life purpose, it was his social life, and his independence.
In future articles I will discuss more ideas for employment – and purpose – for those with the diagnosis no one wants to hear; dementia.
Everything has a purpose. Drills are an object and fulfill a purpose of helping us hang up a picture or build a house. But people are not objects; let us value our colleagues, friends, and family until the end of their lives by finding answers to the questions, “How will I work? What will give my life purpose?”
Nancy R Poland, Grace’s Message
With grace and hope, Nancy Poland provides written and spoken communication on caregiving, loss, and other valuable topics. She owns what she calls a “micro-business” named “Grace’s Message,” however she has many years of experience in the business world.
In December 2022, Nancy retired from NMDP (previously National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match) after nearly 28 years of employment. She most recently worked as a Contracts and Compliance Manager and spent over 18 years in management as a people-leader. Nancy has a Bachelor of Arts in social work and a Master of Arts in Health and Human Services Administration. She has authored two books on caregiving, issues a quarterly newsletter, and offers both in-person and virtual presentations.
A life-long resident of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, Nancy and her husband John raised two sons and continue to contribute to their communities, travel, and work on solving British detective shows.
As a working caregiver, Nancy encountered dilemmas such as the following, with no good choices.
- The phone rings, an ambulance is bringing her mom to the hospital (again). Does Nancy stay at work for the rest of the training session, or should she race to meet the ambulance and mom at the hospital?
- Dad is in the care home, in the later stages of dementia. The only day they schedule monthly family conferences is Thursday, no later than 2:30. Should Nancy take a half day off work, leave work and come back, or dial in, and miss out on a face-to-face conversation.
Working caregivers struggle with job obligations, caring for their loved one, and often other family responsibilities. The one they are caring for may be a child with special needs, an aging relative, or an unexpectedly injured spouse. None of us know when we will be called upon to care for another, and trying to balance each facet of life can be a recipe for disaster. When a caregiver has a crisis, it affects not only the ones involved, but also the company.
Studies show caregivers often have increased absenteeism or reduced performance while at work. They often need to cut down work hours or quit. As this is especially true for caregivers of older adults with significant care needs, for this talk I will focus on ways companies and caregivers can partner together to address the ever-increasing needs of caregivers for our aging population.
Website: https://nancyrpoland.com
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