A poster responded that the caregiver is not there to entertain your family member. My response to that is we aren't asking for you to entertain them, but we are expecting you to interact with them. They are people, not things. You are paid by the hour, not by the task. So if I have paid you for 3 hours, I expect you to be doing something for my loved one during those 3 hours.
It doesn't' matter what type of job you have....accountant, doctor, grocery store clerk...your employer expects you to be working while you're on the clock, not playing angry birds on your phone. People have become so rude with their phones. I actually joined a friend for breakfast one morning and she whipped out her phone and started doing something and I just stared at her until she put it down. I have seen couples out to dinner and they were each on their phone instead of talking or interacting with one another. it's rude and it's sad.
I've gotten off course here, but bottom line is you have hired this person, therefore you get to set the rules.
You hit the nail on the head. The cell phone generation seems to think it's ok to be on the phone while being paid to do a job. As more of these folks move in to mgmt positions, so it becomes the norm. It was my biggest pet peeve just before I retired. An employee addicted to their phone and meaningless messenging is getting paid for hours they are not performing for the employer. In essence, they are getting a fringe benefit of 'time off work' that others don't get. Same as arriving to work late every day. Even it it's 5-10 minutes a day, that comes out to 30 minutes to an hour off work that I didn't get. It comes down to work ethic - you were paid to be somewhere at a certain time and to work X number of hours. Just do it.
Ahh... older middle aged folks complaining about younger people and phones, THE cliche of the last 10 years. Caregivers are not entertainers. If they are doing their caregiving duties, they've done their job.
If all the things expected of the caregiver are being done, what else do you expect the caregiver to do -- sit and stare at your LO? I see nothing wrong with being on the phone (and that may actually be looking at things online, not necessarily talking on the phone to people) during the nothing-else-to-do times. If the things expected of the caregiver are not getting done, then the caregiver needs to understand that her phone time comes after everything is done.
My husband wants me with him as much as possible. I can't just sit and stare at him for hours on end. I have been stuck on that couch "being with him" for up to eleven hours straight (three consecutive football games on the tv -- and I despise football). I am thankful for my phone, my tablet, and my chromebook. I can read, do email, facebook, play games, while being ready to meet his next demand.
Laura, your Dad should have worked that all out with the Caregiver before she started on day one, maybe he did.
I hope there is a Contract between your Dad and the Caregiver which states what are her duties, cost per hour, if meals will be provided, etc.
I can understand how you feel. Whenever I stopped by my Dad's house and see the caregiver sitting on the sofa watching TV with my Dad, I was thinking shouldn't she be doing some chores. When my Dad said how much he enjoyed having the caregivers [he had 3 shifts each day] and how nice the house looked, I stopped questioning. If Dad was happy, I should be happy, too.
I am a Private Pay caregiver, and truthfully, if I were to do such a thing while on the clock, I would absolutely expect the client to fire me on the spot. I'm not there to "play," I'm there to care for their loved one. When I enter the home, my phone is turned off. It's known as RESPECT. Your caregiver needs to learn that before finding another client, cause she sure would not be in my home taking care of my loved one.
Thanks for expressing what should be understood. If a caregiver is hired by an institution such as a hospital or nursing home, she would be assigned other duties as well as the specific care tasks enumerated. These do not have to be specified in a job description.
In home care, the care giver is there for the client. If the client has any needs at all that can not be independently accomplished, the care giver is there to help (within the limits of her personal and/or professional ability). Part of her job is to pay attention and recognize these needs as they arise. A game or phone conversation should never be a distraction. One important need might be the need for social interaction. If the client wants conversation or to express needs, she should have the full attention of the care giver. (regular breaks should be provided for the care giver the eat a meal or use her phone)
Yes, common courtesy and respect are owed to the client. The client is not only a human being with needs he/she is also the "boss" (or his family/representatives are).
Is your caregiver doing a good job and getting the work done? Is your loved one being kept clean, and well fed, and are they content? If you can answer 'yes' to these questions then don't worry about the caregiver and their cellphone. May I ask you something about your caregiving situation? Is your caregiver on the scene for many hours a day? Are they a live-in? Please let me tell you something about in-home caregivers having been one myself for almost 25 years, that most people don't know when they hire one of us. We are not entertainers. When one of us is on a job hour after hour for some senior with dementia who doesn't even know what day it is, expect to see a phone come out at some point. If I'm working for you expect to see a laptop come out at some point. If your loved one is being well cared for, is clean, fed, and in a clean and healthy environment then if I were you, I would not complain too much to the good, private caregiver you're lucky to have. Here's something else you might not know about us independent caregivers. We do a far better job caring for someone then agency help does because we're working for ourselves.
Also, Burnt, if you read down a bit closer to when OP posted question (several that day about this caregiver) you will see that the caregiver is hired by her father and is caring for the father and mother apparently to their liking. So there are no complaints actually coming from those cared for about this caregiver. So I agree with RealyReal that this is up to "whomever hired the caregiver" to give instructions as to what they want done, and how. The father, if he is unhappy, it seems to me is capable of telling the caregiver not to be on the phone at all unless in the case of a family emergency if he wishes to do that. Then it is up to the caregiver whether he or she chooses to work further for the couple. To me this all looks like falling under "too many chefs spoiling the stew". I think that the OP is trying to manage the care more than her Dad wishes to have it managed. So many choices and decisions are taken from us as we age. If the dad and mom are satisfied with this caregiver then I hope the OP will step away unless she sees real problems occurring.
You are the employer. You decide what is appropriate. If all the tasks have been completed. If the person they are supposed to be caring for is sleeping or other wise occupied then I do not see a problem with the phone. But if the person they are caring for needs help will the caregiver just drop the phone or will they finish the level of the game they are on? If the play on the phone is hindering the job then they should not be on the phone. And you did not mention it but...no photos of your loved one, no photos in the house, no photos of the outside of your house.
To me, cell phone use has gotten out of hand. There was a young woman the other day with her infant in the baby carriage. I was driving down the street. The young girl was in the middle of the road with one hand on the baby carriage and one hand on her cell phone, just standing still in the middle of the road!! Granted it is a neighborhood, not a main road, but still!!!
I beeped the horn, she slowly moved her baby carriage to the side of the road. It seems to be the norm, not the exception.
When we use to visit our son in NYC, everyone is at the crosswalk staring at their cell phones as they cross the road!!!
I think I need to quit reading this, because it's making me dizzy because it's like following a tennis match while standing right next to the net--one says "yes, it matters", the next says "no, it doesn't", then "yes", "no", "yes", "no"--you get the idea. The bottom line is probably for the family to discuss it among themselves, come to an agreement, and then talk to the hired caregiver, especially if the decision is that she shouldn't be spending the time on her phone. There probably ISN'T a "one size fits all" answer. A signed agreement might be an excellent idea to be sure there are no misunderstandings about expectations, whatever the family decides the latter should be.
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It doesn't' matter what type of job you have....accountant, doctor, grocery store clerk...your employer expects you to be working while you're on the clock, not playing angry birds on your phone. People have become so rude with their phones. I actually joined a friend for breakfast one morning and she whipped out her phone and started doing something and I just stared at her until she put it down. I have seen couples out to dinner and they were each on their phone instead of talking or interacting with one another. it's rude and it's sad.
I've gotten off course here, but bottom line is you have hired this person, therefore you get to set the rules.
If you want your parent entertained call a clown.
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My husband wants me with him as much as possible. I can't just sit and stare at him for hours on end. I have been stuck on that couch "being with him" for up to eleven hours straight (three consecutive football games on the tv -- and I despise football). I am thankful for my phone, my tablet, and my chromebook. I can read, do email, facebook, play games, while being ready to meet his next demand.
I hope there is a Contract between your Dad and the Caregiver which states what are her duties, cost per hour, if meals will be provided, etc.
I can understand how you feel. Whenever I stopped by my Dad's house and see the caregiver sitting on the sofa watching TV with my Dad, I was thinking shouldn't she be doing some chores. When my Dad said how much he enjoyed having the caregivers [he had 3 shifts each day] and how nice the house looked, I stopped questioning. If Dad was happy, I should be happy, too.
If a caregiver is hired by an institution such as a hospital or nursing home, she would be assigned other duties as well as the specific care tasks enumerated. These do not have to be specified in a job description.
In home care, the care giver is there for the client. If the client has any needs at all that can not be independently accomplished, the care giver is there to help (within the limits of her personal and/or professional ability). Part of her job is to pay attention and recognize these needs as they arise. A game or phone conversation should never be a distraction.
One important need might be the need for social interaction. If the client wants conversation or to express needs, she should have the full attention of the care giver. (regular breaks should be provided for the care giver the eat a meal or use her phone)
Yes, common courtesy and respect are owed to the client. The client is not only a human being with needs he/she is also the "boss" (or his family/representatives are).
May I ask you something about your caregiving situation? Is your caregiver on the scene for many hours a day? Are they a live-in?
Please let me tell you something about in-home caregivers having been one myself for almost 25 years, that most people don't know when they hire one of us.
We are not entertainers. When one of us is on a job hour after hour for some senior with dementia who doesn't even know what day it is, expect to see a phone come out at some point. If I'm working for you expect to see a laptop come out at some point. If your loved one is being well cared for, is clean, fed, and in a clean and healthy environment then if I were you, I would not complain too much to the good, private caregiver you're lucky to have.
Here's something else you might not know about us independent caregivers. We do a far better job caring for someone then agency help does because we're working for ourselves.
If all the tasks have been completed.
If the person they are supposed to be caring for is sleeping or other wise occupied then I do not see a problem with the phone. But if the person they are caring for needs help will the caregiver just drop the phone or will they finish the level of the game they are on?
If the play on the phone is hindering the job then they should not be on the phone.
And you did not mention it but...no photos of your loved one, no photos in the house, no photos of the outside of your house.
I beeped the horn, she slowly moved her baby carriage to the side of the road. It seems to be the norm, not the exception.
When we use to visit our son in NYC, everyone is at the crosswalk staring at their cell phones as they cross the road!!!
In my opinion, if the patient is home then she/he has some sort of life...then the answer is easy: -->The short answer is: NO.
BUT, it depends on what is going on; therefore, yes sometimes on the cell and NEVER consistently on the cell. (Why have the caregiver then?)
I don't care who you are, if you are on the cell phone, you AIN'T fully paying attention to the patient. :-D