Housing
Housing Is Essential
Whether buying or renting, housing has become a pressing financial stressor for individuals in Idaho.
According to the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, “Only half of Idaho’s rental units are affordable to Idaho residents.” Additionally, between 2022 and 2023 the number of affordable rental houses dropped from 42 units per 100 needed to 38 units per 100 needed, meaning that the deficit of affordable housing is growing.
Individuals buying homes also face high interest rates and high prices. For existing homeowners, roughly 52,000 homeowner households in Idaho are cost-burdened, meaning that they spend over 30% of their monthly income on housing.
Housing Affects Employment
High housing costs mean that workers across Idaho are more likely to shop for new employment opportunities with higher wages. Financial stress can also cause people with insufficient wages to take on more overtime hours, a second job, or additional work on the side, increasing the likelihood of burnout. Some people may choose to rent or buy a home in their price range located far from their work, adding the stress of a long commute to their workload.
Employers Can Help
To reduce burnout and increase retention, employers can offer housing benefits such as the following that meet staff needs.
Transportation
Transportation: An Issue of Safety and Cost
As Idaho’s population has grown, so has the strain on our infrastructure. Commute times increased 5% between 2016 and 2020, despite higher numbers of people working from home. Additionally, the total number of vehicle crashes has increased between 2018 and 2023, largely due to crashes causing property damage but no loss of life or injury. Regardless of the crash type, these traffic accidents can cause stress and unnecessary costs for employees.
During a worker shortage, when employees may be more likely to work overtime or long shifts, commuting can become a significant stressor and risk, taking more valuable time out of an employee’s day and forcing them to operate a vehicle when they may be exhausted.
Additionally, the World Population Review ranks Idaho in the top 10 US states for gas prices, making each mile commuters drive all the more painful. Add to that the $3,675 base cost of car ownership in Idaho Idahoans pay to own a car every year, and a daily commute becomes a costly, risky endeavor.
Employers Can Help
By helping to offset the costs of transportation, employers can ease the burden on commuters and support a healthy work-life balance.
Dependent Care
Caring for Caregivers
Dependent care can be stressful for anyone, but for people in the medical field it can be even more exhausting. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, there are 43.5 million caregivers in the United States who have provided care for a child, an elderly adult, or a disabled adult in the past year.
On average, caregivers spend:
- 13 days each month on tasks such as shopping, food preparation, housekeeping, laundry, transportation, and giving medication;
- 6 days per month on feeding, dressing, grooming, walking, bathing, and assistance toileting;
- 13 hours per month researching care services or information on disease, coordinating physician visits or managing financial matters.
Many caregivers also provide financial support to the people they care for. This means that caregiving can be physically, emotionally, and financially stressful, particularly for those who are working on top of their caregiving responsibilities.
Employers Can Help
Caregivers benefit strongly from flexible scheduling, dedicated PTO for tasks related to caregiving, daycare vouchers, supportive workplace cultures, and many other supports that employers can provide.
Behavioral Health
The Nation’s Health Workers Need Support
Health worker jobs in the U.S. involve demanding and sometimes dangerous duties, including exposure to infectious diseases and violence from patients and their families. The COVID-19 pandemic presented even more stressors. These included a surge of patients, longer working hours, and shortages of supplies and protective equipment. Health workers are reporting feeling fatigue, loss, and grief at levels higher than before the pandemic.
Study finds health worker mental health is suffering
In 2023, the CDC’s Quality of Worklife survey indicated health care workers experiencing a more significant drop in mental health than workers in other industries. Reports of high turnover, a loss of institutional knowledge
Reports of poor mental health symptoms increased more for health workers than for other worker groups.
Supportive workplaces can help to promote well-being
Health workers reported fewer mental health issues when they said they work in supportive environments. Factors that may make workplaces more supportive include:
- Participation in workplace decisions
- Trust between management and workers
- Proactive and helpful supervisors that promote:
- Stress prevention,
- Psychological health,
- Support for productivity,
- A harassment-free workplace, and
- Enough time to complete tasks.
What We Can Do
How health workers viewed their workplace had a big impact on their stress from the COVID-19 pandemic. When they reported trusting their management, health workers had fewer symptoms of burnout. This shows that positive, supportive workplaces may act as a buffer and lessen the mental distress health workers experience.
Health workers’ mental health, under unprecedented strain from the pandemic, demands immediate attention and decisive action. The Vital Signs study is a wake-up call to the pressing need to support the mental health of health workers. By understanding which working conditions harm mental health, employers can address these work-related factors and promote worker well-being.
Employers can:
Improve workplace conditions that foster trust in management and prevent health worker burnout. Working conditions to focus on include:
Supporting adequate staff levels,
Providing helpful supervision, and
Preventing harassment of employees.
Encourage worker participation and two-way communication in decision-making.
Reduce stigma related to seeking help by eliminating intrusive questions for credentialing.
Provide and encourage use of paid leave for illness, family needs, and rest.
Supervisors and workers can:
Talk together about how to improve workplace conditions.
Use this study to show the importance of improving these working conditions in health occupations.
Discuss the benefits of better workplaces for everyone’s health and well-being.
Everyone can:
Support health workers by expressing appreciation for their essential work.
Treat them with understanding and respect as they care for us and our families.
Article adapted from the CDC’s publication: Health Workers Report Harassment, Symptoms of Poor Mental Health, and Difficult Working Conditions | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC
Resources to Attract and Retain Staff
Housing
Transportation
Dependent Care
Behavioral Health
Housing Is Essential
Whether buying or renting, housing has become a pressing financial stressor for individuals in Idaho.
According to the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, “Only half of Idaho’s rental units are affordable to Idaho residents.” Additionally, between 2022 and 2023 the number of affordable rental houses dropped from 42 units per 100 needed to 38 units per 100 needed, meaning that the deficit of affordable housing is growing.
Individuals buying homes also face high interest rates and high prices. For existing homeowners, roughly 52,000 homeowner households in Idaho are cost-burdened, meaning that they spend over 30% of their monthly income on housing.
Housing Affects Employment
High housing costs mean that workers across Idaho are more likely to shop for new employment opportunities with higher wages. Financial stress can also cause people with insufficient wages to take on more overtime hours, a second job, or additional work on the side, increasing the likelihood of burnout. Some people may choose to rent or buy a home in their price range located far from their work, adding the stress of a long commute to their workload.
Employers Can Help
To reduce burnout and increase retention, employers can offer housing benefits such as the following that meet staff needs.
Employer-Assisted Housing Programs
These programs are designed to provide flexible assistance to employees through grants, low or no interest loans, down payment assistance, support with security deposits, or other financial assistance deemed appropriate.
While most EAHPs assist with homebuyers working to purchase a new or first-time home, they can be even more flexible to support current homeowners with mortgage payments, or renters with security deposits. Allowing funds that employees can spend flexibly based on their needs (whether that means saving for a down payment or spending on a security deposit) will provide maximum benefit.
RESOURCES
Down Payment Assistance
Several organizations already provide grants, down payment assistance, and other supports to health care workers who are buying or selling a home.
Consider building a trusted referral network that allows you to connect your employees to external resources, like these ready-made programs operated by experts in the real estate industry. These referrals are even more impactful when offered alongside an Employer-Assisted Housing Program and homebuyer education, which is offered by several organizations at no cost.
RESOURCES
Supportive City Housing Policies
“Local governments are … recognizing that restrictive zoning and outdated land-use regulations can suppress housing supply, drive up housing costs, and widen racial and economic disparities.”
This quote from the Urban Institute’s 2019 report on new zoning methods sums up the situation perfectly. Much of America’s zoning was created in the 1950s and 60s in a very different development environment with a smaller population and often much cheaper land prices. Employers can help by researching policies that would directly support affordable housing for their employees then bringing ideas to their local government. Several examples are provided below.
Tip: zoning happens at the local level!
RESOURCES
Rental Selection Assistance
Renters experience more housing instability than homeowners, and may face sudden price increases when renewing a lease or moving. Being able to locate and secure an affordable rental is therefore a critical matter of time for many renters.
The Idaho Housing and Finance Association uses housingidaho.com to help renters quickly locate properties that meet their needs. The tool is completely free and offers support in both English and Spanish for maximum utility to the public.
You can refer employees directly to this tool as a self-service option to aid their housing search.
RESOURCES
Employer-Owned Affordable Housing
AmeriCorps is often associated with two things: devoted service to the United States and a sub-minimum wage stipend. To enable AmeriCorps members to serve without going into debt or losing access to housing, some AmeriCorps sites own housing units and provide it either as a no-cost benefit to members or at a very low cost.
This method can be used to help your employees spend less on rent and/or save up for a home. Various Idaho nonprofits including Neighborworks, Habitat for Humanity, and LEAP Housing are experienced in developing and operating affordable housing, and can serve as an example for operating your own employee housing.
RESOURCES
Third Party Affordable Housing
Partnering with third parties that already own and operate affordable housing can be a much less costly way for businesses to secure affordable units for their employees. Consider creating partnerships with organizations that will guarantee a certain number of units for your employees, and expect that you will have some responsibility to support the housing.
Partnerships provide the added benefit of a direct connection to housing, which streamlines the process for employees.
RESOURCES
Homebuyer Education
Homebuyer education allows potential buyers to start their journey to homeownership strong, helping your employees to locate the right house and the right team to help them buy it. Homebuyer education can also help to set expectations and clarify hidden costs to ensure that buyers are prepared for the many steps involved in buying a home.
These programs also can help first time homebuyers secure lower rates and other perks! Contact education providers directly to learn about all available perks and supports for new and not-in-a-long-time homebuyers.
RESOURCES
Transportation: An Issue of Safety and Cost
As Idaho’s population has grown, so has the strain on our infrastructure. Commute times increased 5% between 2016 and 2020, despite higher numbers of people working from home. Additionally, the total number of vehicle crashes has increased between 2018 and 2023, largely due to crashes causing property damage but no loss of life or injury. Regardless of the crash type, these traffic accidents can cause stress and unnecessary costs for employees.
During a worker shortage, when employees may be more likely to work overtime or long shifts, commuting can become a significant stressor and risk, taking more valuable time out of an employee’s day and forcing them to operate a vehicle when they may be exhausted.
Additionally, the World Population Review ranks Idaho in the top 10 US states for gas prices, making each mile commuters drive all the more painful. Add to that the $3,675 base cost of car ownership in Idaho Idahoans pay to own a car every year, and a daily commute becomes a costly, risky endeavor.
Employers Can Help
By helping to offset the costs of transportation, employers can ease the burden on commuters and support a healthy work-life balance.
Commuter Benefits Programs
People across the country are feeling the pressure of increased prices, particularly when it comes to owning a car. This financial strain can contribute to mental and emotional stress; alleviating that stress is what makes commuter benefit programs so impactful.
Built by employers or contracted through a third party, these benefits can be rolled into an existing Employee Assistance Program. Commuter Benefits Programs operate much like a HSA or FSA, allowing your employees to set aside pre-tax funds for use on public transit, parking, ride share services, and basic vehicle (or scooter or bicycle) maintenance.
RESOURCES
Public Transit
When it comes to transit, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. A growing number of communities in Idaho operate transportation systems that provide quality access for commuters. Consider partnering with a transit authority to secure pass discounts, route adjustments, and improved scheduling.
Be prepared to negotiate with your local transit authority and ask how you can collaboratively meet the needs of the community, whether that involves new routes or varied hours of operation.
RESOURCES
Rural Transit Options
Transit can be a critical benefit for employees who make long commutes or battle dangerous weather conditions, which often happens in rural areas.
Idaho already has great examples of rural and intercity transit that provide these benefits. Check the Idaho Transportation Department’s list of transit providers on page 19 of this document to discover transit options near you. For those living in transit deserts, consider starting a small-scale shuttle service to meet your needs.
RESOURCES
Employer-Operated Shuttle Service
For employers operating in a transit desert who would like to provide transit benefits, the best option may be to create your own system.
Employer-operated transit can be as simple as one van and a driver making two trips a day. Shuttle systems like these can be relatively inexpensive and highly effective when small resources are applied to create transportation solutions that meet employees’ needs. This system can achieve a key goal of employer-operated transit: to ease the stress and cost of commutes on employees and improve their work-life balance.
RESOURCES
Caring for Caregivers
Dependent care can be stressful for anyone, but for people in the medical field it can be even more exhausting. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, there are 43.5 million caregivers in the United States who have provided care for a child, an elderly adult, or a disabled adult in the past year.
On average, caregivers spend:
- 13 days each month on tasks such as shopping, food preparation, housekeeping, laundry, transportation, and giving medication;
- 6 days per month on feeding, dressing, grooming, walking, bathing, and assistance toileting;
- 13 hours per month researching care services or information on disease, coordinating physician visits or managing financial matters.
Many caregivers also provide financial support to the people they care for. This means that caregiving can be physically, emotionally, and financially stressful, particularly for those who are working on top of their caregiving responsibilities.
Employers Can Help
Caregivers benefit strongly from flexible scheduling, dedicated PTO for tasks related to caregiving, daycare vouchers, supportive workplace cultures, and many other supports that employers can provide.
Subsidized Child or Dependent Care
Child care, dependent care, and elder care is extremely costly. Caregivers who work have to make hard decisions about how many hours they’ll be at work, what kinds of career advancements they can take on, and what kind of wages they can accept. While the situation is difficult, not having quality, reliable dependent care can be even harder.
That situation can lead to absenteeism or employees leaving their job because the care available simply isn’t compatible with the demands of their job. Fortunately, Idaho provides limited subsidies for low-income workers, and employers can provide additional benefits. How many workers could you retain by providing $200 each month toward their care costs?
RESOURCES
Employer-Operated Child Care
The Workforce Development Council operates the Child Care Expansion Grant program, which incentivizes child care programs that provide set-aside seats for local employers. This can go even farther, with employers providing their own child care facilities for employees.
Operating your own facility means that you can tailor programs to your staff’s shifts and exact needs, lowering the cost of the benefit by providing it in bulk.
RESOURCES
Child Care Vouchers
Employers can provide vouchers in several different ways. This might include a voucher (worth a certain amount each month) that can be taken to any child care facility that the employee selects, or a voucher in the form of a reserved seat at a single facility selected by the employer.
Vouchers can be a lower-cost method of securing quality, affordable child care for employees and gives your staff peace of mind, knowing their child is safe and cared for during their work hours.
RESOURCES
Caregiver Stipends and Bonuses
On average, caregivers spend about $7,000 of their own money on the needs of the person they care for annually. During a time when most Idahoans are feeling the squeeze of high costs for food, transportation, and housing, the additional stress of caregivers’ expenses can compound the emotional toll of their work.
Consider creating a caregiver stipend or bonus program to offset these expenses. This may have the added benefit of helping caregivers to self-identify, which is key to them seeking out emotional and community support as well.
RESOURCES
Community Support and Networking
Caregiving is a rewarding role, but it can also be physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing. This can be especially intense for the healthcare workforce, who are using the same skills at work and at home. This compounded strain can lead to intense feelings of isolation, exhaustion, or hopelessness.
All of these factors make community an essential element in reducing burnout for caregivers. Giving people a venue to speak and be heard, to learn about resources, and share in hurdles and triumphs can calm the intensity of caregiving and reduce isolation.
RESOURCES
Respite Care
Nearly two-thirds of family caregivers work part or full time, and about one third also have children or grandchildren to look after. Many of these caregivers take extremely few hours each week for themselves, focusing all their energy on their work and those they care for. This situation makes it nearly impossible for caregivers to provide for their own physical and mental health.
Respite care helps by allowing caregivers to rest, recharge, take a few days off or even go on a well-deserved vacation, all while knowing their loved one is safe. Area Agencies on Aging provide respite care across Idaho, and national organizations like ARCH and the VA can assist as well.
RESOURCES
Supportive HR Policies
Employers have a powerful ability to shift HR policies and create systems that help workers feel valued, respected, recharged, and in-balance. Simple changes such as flexible scheduling, caregiver leave, and creating or expanding Employee Assistance Programs.
The goal of these changes is to ease the intensity of responsibilities that employees have to juggle unaided. Guaranteeing time for employees to take care of their loved ones’ needs and their own, while also meeting work expectations, is a key aspect of supportive HR policies.
RESOURCES
The Nation’s Health Workers Need Support
Health worker jobs in the U.S. involve demanding and sometimes dangerous duties, including exposure to infectious diseases and violence from patients and their families. The COVID-19 pandemic presented even more stressors. These included a surge of patients, longer working hours, and shortages of supplies and protective equipment. Health workers are reporting feeling fatigue, loss, and grief at levels higher than before the pandemic.
Study finds health worker mental health is suffering
In 2023, the CDC’s Quality of Worklife survey indicated health care workers experiencing a more significant drop in mental health than workers in other industries. Reports of high turnover, a loss of institutional knowledge
Reports of poor mental health symptoms increased more for health workers than for other worker groups.
Supportive workplaces can help to promote well-being
Health workers reported fewer mental health issues when they said they work in supportive environments. Factors that may make workplaces more supportive include:
- Participation in workplace decisions
- Trust between management and workers
- Proactive and helpful supervisors that promote:
- Stress prevention,
- Psychological health,
- Support for productivity,
- A harassment-free workplace, and
- Enough time to complete tasks.
What We Can Do
How health workers viewed their workplace had a big impact on their stress from the COVID-19 pandemic. When they reported trusting their management, health workers had fewer symptoms of burnout. This shows that positive, supportive workplaces may act as a buffer and lessen the mental distress health workers experience.
Health workers’ mental health, under unprecedented strain from the pandemic, demands immediate attention and decisive action. The Vital Signs study is a wake-up call to the pressing need to support the mental health of health workers. By understanding which working conditions harm mental health, employers can address these work-related factors and promote worker well-being.
Employers can:
Improve workplace conditions that foster trust in management and prevent health worker burnout. Working conditions to focus on include:
Supporting adequate staff levels,
Providing helpful supervision, and
Preventing harassment of employees.
Encourage worker participation and two-way communication in decision-making.
Reduce stigma related to seeking help by eliminating intrusive questions for credentialing.
Provide and encourage use of paid leave for illness, family needs, and rest.
Supervisors and workers can:
Talk together about how to improve workplace conditions.
Use this study to show the importance of improving these working conditions in health occupations.
Discuss the benefits of better workplaces for everyone’s health and well-being.
Everyone can:
Support health workers by expressing appreciation for their essential work.
Treat them with understanding and respect as they care for us and our families.
Article adapted from the CDC’s publication: Health Workers Report Harassment, Symptoms of Poor Mental Health, and Difficult Working Conditions | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC
Flexible Scheduling and Telecommuting
Burnout can accelerate when employees have to continue working beyond the point of exhaustion or through important personal events or family events.
While it may be tempting to push employees to ‘adapt better,’ that temptation is not a solution for a real, industry-wide issue. Instead, consider using innovative scheduling methods to help employees maintain a quality work-life balance. Offering this support can allow employees to decompress and reduce stress naturally.
RESOURCES
HR Policy Review
Between 2018 and 2022, “the percentage of health workers who reported feeling burnout very often increased from 11.6% to 19.0%,” according to the CDC. In this time period, reports of poor mental health days also rose, as did the stressors on the health care workforce. By 2022, well over 40% of health workers reported being somewhat or very likely to look for a new job that year.
The diagrams on p. 35 indicate the importance of workers feeling and being safe on the job.
RESOURCES
Mental Health First Aid
The ability to immediately support coworkers’ mental health is a critical skill that is rising in importance during the mental health crisis the United States is facing. Fortunately, several trainings and frameworks already exist to help build these skills, allowing employees to better help themselves and build a culture of resilience.
These trainings can also help organizations to manage individual stress at an early stage, rather than later when it has grown and begun to affect other people.
Consider integrating mental health first aid into standard trainings, or offer employees incentives for completing the training.
RESOURCES
