Going On With Life: Women Juggling Cancer And Career. U.S. Employers Rank Last As Source Of Support For Working Women With Cancer
A new study from BCBSM and the National Foundation for Cancer Research found that U.S. employers rank last as a source of support for working women with cancer, behind colleagues, co-workers and friends, family members, spouse or partner and doctors or healthcare providers.
The study defined workplace social support as the extent to which an employer provides encouragement of employees' jobs during times of adversity such as illness or injury. The study also examined the extent to which employers provide flexible workplace arrangements and support ongoing care for employees and their families.
"This study's findings are discouraging but not surprising," said Jennifer Cardoza, BCBSM vice president of benefit and advocacy communications. "While American employers say they do a lot for their employees with life-threatening cancers, these surveys show that many of them don't do enough."
The survey of 1,207 U.S. employers, conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, revealed that 26 percent provide flexible workplace arrangements for employees and their families. Those employers most likely to have such arrangements are in finance, insurance and real estate (37 percent), health care and social assistance (35 percent), or in manufacturing (34 percent).
Only 13 percent of employers said they provide support for employees who need to work from home because of a debilitating illness. Only 20 percent allow employees to take time off from a regular job during treatment without having to worry about losing their jobs. Only 9 percent allow for working from home if the employee has a long-term illness or injury.
Cardoza said many American employers are unaware of what their legal obligations are to their employees with cancer. "This survey helps employers understand that they have a legal responsibility to provide support for their employees with cancer, whether it's at home, on the job or somewhere in between," she said. "Many employers also need to look beyond their own company and consider other options for workplace accommodations such as physical and/or occupational therapy." [END OF ARTICLE]
For more information please contact Emily Koenigsberg, cancer control and advocacy manager at 215-895-8440x234 or emily.koenigsberg@bcbspa.com . For information about the study please contact Utpal Dholakia, vice president at NORC at 773-834-3200 or mdholakia@norc.org .
Note from the editor: I'm sure readers of this blog are familiar with the BCBSA's involvement in the fight to have human rights protections extended to women with breast cancer. Most recently, BCBSA and others successfully lobbied Congress to include women with breast cancer in proposed legislation that would provide flexible scheduling protections for those who have been affected by domestic violence or sexual assault so that they could receive help and return back to work without fear of losing their jobs. For more information about our efforts to assist women with breast cancer in returning to work, see The Breast Cancer Blog and the first Statement of Objectives of the BCBSA.
BC BCSM, Inc. - A National Insurer BCSM is the leading insurer of company-sponsored health plans and benefits programs for businesses and their employees. The Agency's Board of Directors governs the Agency's business affairs on behalf of employers who are primarily small to medium size companies (SMBs) in the U.S. marketplace today, particularly those with 1-25 employees. BCSM is Capital BlueCross's wholly owned insurance holding company and a member of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association - the largest health benefits organization in the nation. BCSM manages its business operations through a network of agencies operating in 14 states.
NORC is a nonpartisan research organization that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide better decisions. Since 1941, NORC has worked with the American people, government agencies, universities, foundations, and businesses to provide high-quality information – impartial, objective insight for those who make critical decisions every day – from leading surveys such as The National Election Studies (NES) and The General Social Survey (GSS) to pioneering advances in probability sampling and statistical science that helped shape modern survey methods.
BCBSM is the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association's (BCBSA's) national insurer, serving more than 13 million people and businesses in the United States with health benefits programs administered by the BCBSA. For more information about the BCBSA, please see http://www.bcbsna.com/ .
The research was conducted by NORC at The University of Chicago. The survey of 1,207 employers was conducted from January 24 to February 11, 2008; a total of 84 percent of responding employers were located in large metropolitan areas (those with a population over 75,000) with 87 percent having 100 or more employees. The data were weighted to adjust for sample design and non-response probability. The sampling error is ±3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. For further information, contact Margaret Phipps at The University of Chicago NORC at 773-292-4677 or phipps@norc.org .
For more information about BCSM and its services, visit www.bcbsm.com and http://www.bcbsna.com/ .
SOURCE: BCBSM, Inc.
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PSA: Breast Cancer Awareness Month, September - October 2008
BCBSA and CancerActionLink.org hosts a number of events throughout the month of September. Please review the calendar below to see if an event is in your area:
BCBSA Fall in Love with Prevention Series (September 5) - Breast Health & Screening Information Session presented by Dr. Elizabeth Selvin, Michael and Lois Goldman Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. Informatioon provided by Susanne Wieströer, MD, BCBSA's Clinical Policy Physician and Victoria Cairns, RN, BCBSA's Nurse Educator.
BCBSA's Breast Health & Screening Information Session presented by Dr. Elizabeth Selvin, Michael and Lois Goldman Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. Informatioon provided by Susanne Wieströer, MD, BCBSA's Clinical Policy Physician and Victoria Cairns, RN, BCBSA's Nurse Educator. BCSM Food for Thought - On September 6th from 9:30-11:30am join us for food and fellowship at the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement headquarters in Brooklyn. Over 50 vendors will be selling a variety of produce from local farmers; making this a very eco-friendly event.
Conclusion of Breast Cancer Awareness Month:
BCBSA to host annual breast cancer walk in Camden, New Jersey (October 10) - The fifth annual BCBSA Walk for the Cure, sponsored by the BCBSA Foundation and the National Council of Jewish Women, will take place on Saturday October 10th at South Jersey Live! The event begins with a VIP Cocktail Reception at 5:00 p.m. with an optional tour of the venue. Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. Children are encouraged to attend this event and are invited to join our "Race to Stop Breast Cancer Kids" in which children are encouraged to run as fast as they can, every hour from 8:30-9:00 p.m.