SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JOB MARKET: WORK AND FAMILY : Shedding Light on Workers’ Needs in Care for the Elderly : Gerontology: More and more employees have dependent relatives. Programs of help and schedule flexibility are slowly catching on.

Nancy Campos was worried. Her mother, believed to be suffering from early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, had trouble getting to the doctor by herself. But Campos, a 45-year-old buyer for First Interstate Bank, couldn’t get away from work each time her mother had a medical appointment.

Campos was near her wits’ end when she heard about a new employee benefit at the bank--a toll-free referral service specializing in helping the aged. Through the service, Campos found a retired policewoman who, for a “reasonable fee,” would drive an elderly patient to the doctor, wait while they were treated and then drive them home.

“It’s a wonderful service,” said a delighted Campos, who had been unaware of such services. “It relieves a lot of pressure and stress, and everyone is gaining.”

As baby boomers age, more and more employers are offering help to those caring for older relatives. While the number of firms with formal eldercare programs is still small--under 10% nationally--corporate America is realizing it is a hot issue.

It’s not surprising that companies are beginning to recognize the need. One study found that at least half the top executives of Fortune 500 companies were responsible for ailing relatives.

Already, perhaps a third of American workers are caring for elderly relatives, experts say. Half of them may be working less effectively as a result, according to the Conference Board, a New York-based business information group.

The House Select Committee on the Aging found that the average person spends 17 years caring for an elderly relative. A care giver--the majority of whom are women--may spend 12 to 35 hours a week tending aging relatives, according to a 1985 study of the Travelers Insurance Co.

This can take a toll at work. The most dedicated and conscientious employees are often the ones most likely to assume family responsibility, but the stress and fatigue they incur can affect their productivity, concentration and motivation, experts say.

One university study found that 40% of such care givers suffered from clinical depression, according to Dr. JoAnn Damron-Rodriguez, associate director of the Pacific Geriatric Education Center at USC.

Dr. Andrew Scharlach, a gerontologist at the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley, said eldercare remains a sensitive topic, especially in corporate America.

“People may have pictures of their kids on their desks, but they do not have pictures of their parents. It’s not legitimate to publicly disclose they’re having problems doing their job because Mom or Dad is sick, if it will be seen in a negative light by their supervisor,” Scharlach said.

A study of 45 large and medium-sized Southern California employers found that just four of them had eldercare programs, but 30 offered employee benefits that could be applied, said Phyllis Meltzer, a resource specialist with the L.A. Caregiver Resource Center.

Large companies are more likely to have eldercare programs, Meltzer said, but smaller ones may allow more flexibility in work schedules. Service-oriented companies seem to be adapting to eldercare needs more readily than manufacturers, she added.

Some companies have helped meet eldercare needs by joining referral services. Xerox and First Interstate, for example, last year joined a Los Angeles County referral service. Josea Kramer, director of the Eldercare Resource Network, said three other firms have expressed interest in joining this year.

In a stressful eldercare situation, sympathetic bosses and flexible work schedules can be go a long ways toward easing an employee’s anxiety.

Frances Butler, a project director at the Center for the Study of Evaluations at the Graduate School of Education at UCLA, could no longer work full time after her mother developed problems that would eventually lead to amputation of both her legs. Butler’s supervisor, Eva Baker, helped her work out a schedule--including, occasionally, working at home if necessary--that allowed her to meet both job and personal needs.