Alzheimer’s disease is now a workplace issue and Barbados will have to deal with it.
Executive board member of the Barbados Alzheimer’s Association, Kaila Branch, said younger people worldwide were being diagnosed, so it was no longer solely an older person or retiree problem.
“One of the common myths when we’re thinking about dementia is that it only affects the older person, the person who is over the age of 65. But let me highlight that whilst age is the strongest risk factor, we have youngeronset dementia and younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease that occurs in persons who are in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s and obviously persons who are within the working population,” she said.
Branch was addressing the recent third annual Workplace Wellness in Action seminar under the theme Policy in Action. It was hosted by the National Committee on Wellness in the Workplace and was held on Monday in the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael.
The mental health advocate said it was possible for people with mortgages, dependents and young families to be diagnosed with the dreaded disease and, as such, would need support. However, many of them may not want to disclose their condition.
“This is why I continue to press upon persons that we must normalise this conversation because it is something that is on us, it’s something that certainly has impacted us, and we don’t want most persons to suffer in silence while their job security is eroded due to the poor performance that may be attributed to a number of other things as well,” she said.
Branch said this was why it was vital to establish protocols dealing with dementia and Alzheimer’s among working-age people.
“We also recognise that a number of persons face stigma and discrimination; obviously that may be misaligned with poor performance, wrongful demotion or termination, and certainly feelings of disregard and lack of value. Can you imagine if you’re working 15, 20 years with a company, and you start to have these levels of symptoms, which may be impacting your work, and the first thing that person thinks to do is to write you up in terms of your performance metrics and try to hustle you out of the job,” she said.
Fall under category
The advocate added it was not only those who were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease who may clash with their workplaces, as caretakers also fall under that category. She said caretakers of those with dementia often had to find a way to balance taking care of their loved ones with their own careers.
“These informal caregivers must balance caregiving with productivity. Will absenteeism affect your job? Do I leave my job to care for my loved one? Obviously, we know that private care is also an expense. And so, globally, international figures highlight that 50 per cent of the costs associated with elder care are attributed to the informal caregiver. Therefore, families absorb a vast amount of their long-term care costs, either through direct out-of-pocket expenses or the heavy economic opportunity costs of unpaid care hours.
“And so yes, dementia is a labour issue. It intersects with the workingage employee who may be diagnosed early with the condition. Obviously it also impacts many employees who act as unpaid, informal family caregivers,” she said.
The mental health advocate said there had to be support in the workplace for those who were diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s as well as caregivers with jobs.
“We want to create a supportive workplace environment, and we must do this proactively. We must shape the future of work rather than respond reactively to it. I want to urge employers who have no policies with respect to education on dementia to do so. It is imperative that we all know how to recognise the signs and the symptoms. And not only so, but to have guidelines which are going to offer balance for employees and institutional safety and functionality extended with empathy and respect for the employee’s privacy and dignity as well,” she said. (CA)