That latest research from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving is alarming. The US had 43.5 million unpaid caregivers in 2015. By 2020, that number soared to 53 million. Nearly one in five or 19% provide unpaid care to an adult with health or functional needs.
In my last blog post, I shared a recent poll we had conducted that asked what type of training is most effective for aging service providers. Experiential training was the clear leader, followed by peer-to-peer mentoring. Online learning came in last. We need to change our thinking about online learning!
The team here at AGE-u-cate recently ran a poll on this very question. Of the following options, including online learning, experiential training, peer-to-peer mentoring, and "other". The clear winner was experiential training, coming in at 77%, followed by peer-to-peer mentoring at 23%.
We are talking a lot about empathy lately. I see many posts, blogs and articles on the subject because so many feel that it is severely lacking in this current time. Social psychologists are having a field day dissecting what has gone so wrong, and why.
AGE-u-cate's CEO Pam Brandon sent each team member a jar containing one inspirational quote per week for 52 weeks. Every Monday, we unroll our scroll and read the message to the team. You may have seen Laura Ellen Christian on LinkedIn every Monday sharing a video reflection on her inspirational quote.
It is time to get serious about changing the onboarding process for new hires, and there is no time to lose. Maggie Keen, Vice President of Corporate Development at MissionCare Collective delivered this impactful message for AGE-u-cate's February Virtual Road Trip entitled, "Building Culture: Rethinking recruitment, onboarding, and retention to drive better care and a better workplace."
Describing empathy as a lubricant creates visuals in my head like the annoying squeaky door hinge that finally gets some W-D40. A lubricant softens rough edges, makes things work better, and a little bit goes a long way. I think the same is true when we approach situations that we encounter in work and life from a place of empathy.