ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case that provides the experiences and perspectives of two individuals at Alpha Software in confronting the issue of work and eldercare. The case describes the first-hand experiences of employee John Hamilton, a 46-year-old software project head, who becomes increasingly stressed by his attempts to balance full-time work responsibilities with care for his aging mother. The advice that John received had almost unanimously leaned in the direction of continuing to soldier on in silence. John found his Mom passing her wallet over to the cashier to count out the money owing on the grocery bill. She seemed to have a momentary loss in her ability to calculate change. The case also describes the concerns of Barbara Verdun, the human resources manager at Alpha Software. Barbara Verdun joined Alpha as the manager of Human Resources five years ago in 1999. Under her leadership, Alpha formalized its human resource policies and practices.
