Can an Old Dog Learn New Tricks?

According to scientific studies, both older pets and humans alike have the capacity to learn new skills. According to the AARP, the cognitive changes that occur with age can sometimes make it more difficult for seniors to remember things they learned in the past, and learn new material. Training an older employee to enhance their skills or for a new job can be a greater challenge for a person over 50 then for a young professional.

Older adults who have worked in the same job or industry for a number of years, can find it more challenging to adjust to big changes. They may be set it the routines and methods that they have determined most efficient to get the job done and may on occasion resent a younger person trying to implement changes. However, that’s not to say seniors can’t adapt to change and “think outside of the box” when the situation dictates; since older people have stronger motivation, they are likely to do whatever they can to exceed job expectations and please their employer.

Individuals who choose to work up to or past normal retirement age, need to be prepared to accept and learn about new technology and adapt their skills to meet the changing times.

Sources: http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/econ/inb151_work.pdf
               http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/hire-seniors.htm

Aging adults in Austin, Texas can decrease their risk of disability and increase the potential to remain  independent by participating in a walking exercise program, a University of Georgia study shows.

Researchers randomly assigned 26 low income adults age 60 and older to either a walking exercise group, which met three times a week for four months, or a nutrition education control group. The results from the study show that walking, on a regular basis, can make a huge impact on quality of life:

• The control group saw a 9 percent decline in aerobic capacity over the four month study period, the aerobic capacity of the walking group increased 19 percent.
• Researchers found that physical function increased 25 percent in the walking group, compared to a 1 percent decline in the control group.
• The walking exercise group saw its disability risk go from 66 percent to 25 percent, a 41 percent decrease in just four months. The control group saw its risk of disability increase during the study period.

More information on the study, which appears in the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, is available in the press release. http://www.uga.edu/news/artman/publish/080715_walking.shtml 

Home Instead Senior Care Austin can help your elder establish a regular walking program with your elder family member. Our CAREGivers help these older adults stay independent. Please call us for more information at 512-347-9207.

If your company’s Human Resource department is researching options for back-up care for employees taking care of their families, you will want to know how do these programs work. If you are a working mother caring for children and older adults, you might be struggling to get through the days. Call us if you could use some help at 512-347-9207.      

You join thousands of others in this nation caring for seniors as well as young children.  Many employers like yours are investigating back-up care programs for their employees as a way to reduce employee stress and improve absenteeism and productivity.  These programs provide lists of providers that employees can access and contact quickly when they need back-up care.

Work Options Group, a Colorado-based company that specializes in the provision of corporate-sponsored back-up care, shares some feedback from employees who use back-up care. Survey results indicate that the employee benefit does in fact reduce stress and unscheduled absenteeism as well as improve productivity and loyalty among employees. Below are key findings from the 2008 Back-up Care Survey conducted by Work Options Group.  More than 1,200 employees who used back-up care through Work Options Group between March 1 and May 31, 2008 completed the survey.

Visit our blog in a day to view the full survey.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care Austin, contact us at 512-347-9207.  For more information about the survey, log on to http://www.workoptionsgroup.com/press_release_survey.html.

Home Instead Senior Care in Austin, Texas invites you to Be A CAREGiver. There are many Austin seniors who may be needing extra income due to the rising costs of living today. If you’ve spent several years caring for an aging loved one and find yourself short of funds or time on your hands, give us a call at 512-347-9207. You may be retired, over or near the age of 65 with lots of time to better another elder’s life in Austin. If you are healthy and active, and expresses an interest in working again - please call us at 512-347-9207 or fill out Be A CAREGiver.    

In a recent study by MetLife Mature Market Instititue found:

• 70 percent of those surveyed overestimated how much savings they can draw and still maintain enough money to last through retirement.
• 43% thought they could withdraw more than 10% each year, while experts suggest a withdrawal rate of at most 4%, according to the institute.

Outliving savings is the largest risk in retirement, the institute said.

The good news for healthy and active seniors is that more are working well past traditional retirement age.  And one of the most popular professions is caregiving.  The personal and home care aides occupation is expected to grow by more than 50 percent between 2006 and 2016, increasing from 767,000 to a projected 1.15 million jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many of these caregiving jobs in Austin can be found in the homes of seniors who need help to remain independent.  If you have experience caring for an elder or a loved one and have learned caregiving skills, this could be a great job for you.  

Home Instead Senior Care Austin, for instance employs many seniors as CAREGivers.  In fact, we have joined AARP’s National Employer Team (NET). 

So if you do have marketable skills that could provide extra income and a fulfilling way to spend your days, call Home Instead Senior Care Austin at 512-347-9207.

MetLife Mature Market Institute study, log on to: http://www.metlife.com/FileAssets/MMI/MMIStudiesRetirementIQ.pdf