How employers can help support caregivers coping with increased responsibilities

There are 100 million US adults who function as caregivers, providing care for a child, parent, or other relative.¹ That’s up from 43.5 million in 2015, and includes caregivers who also work full-time jobs.² The percentage of full-time working caregivers is also on the rise with a 37.5% growth in just two years from 2019 to 2022.³

Employer support and workplace benefits that address caregivers’ needs are necessary to help this growing segment of the US workforce. Here are strategies that employers can put in place to support caregivers.

Provide flexibility

Flexible work arrangements can help make a meaningful difference for working caregivers. Balancing work and caregiving duties may put a strain on caregivers that can take a toll when there’s a lack of flexibility in their workplace. Fifty-two percent of caregivers who say they don’t have the option to work remotely report poor mental health compared to only 35% of those who can work remotely.⁴ The flexibility to take time off work is also nearly twice as important to caregiving employees.⁵

To help support caregivers, workplaces can offer flexibility through the following benefits strategies:

• Offer remote work options. While more employees are working from home since the start of the pandemic, providing this option as a long-term arrangement can help bring vital flexibility to employees who double as caregivers.

• Allow flexible work schedules. If an employee is working from home and caring for a child or family member, a 9am to 5pm schedule may not always line up with their competing demands. As of 2023, caregivers devote up to 26 hours per week to caregiving responsibilities, which is up from nine hours per week in 2020.⁶ Consider offering flexible schedules to help with employees’ personal situations and allow for their unique caretaking, health, or transportation needs.

Consider enhanced benefits

Employer-offered benefits can help increase support for employees who are caregivers, but research shows that many feel a lack of support from their employers. Twenty-three percent of caregivers don’t think their employer cares about their overall well-being, and only 44% say their benefits meet their needs.⁷ That’s compared to 63% of employers who believe their organization provides adequate support for employees with caregiving responsibilities.⁸

Ways employers can help support caregivers through benefits include:

• Offering paid time off. Consider grouping paid time off (PTO) programs into a single category of leave, which can offer employees greater flexibility to use time off for whatever they need and whenever they need it.

• Providing clear and inclusive policies and communications. Offer guidance and clarity around protected leave including FMLA and state-specific family leave laws.

• Reinforcing recommendations from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to comply with nondiscrimination requirements, including those with respect to preventing unlawful disparate treatment of workers with caregiving responsibilities.

• Considering virtual health care services. Telehealth and teledentistry can increase access to medical and dental consultations and treatments, which can be of particular help to employees with caregiving responsibilities.

• Sharing well-being resources. Employee assistance programs (EAPs) can support employee wellness and mental health and can include counseling services. Promote health savings accounts (HSAs) or other health reimbursement programs.

Create organization-wide buy-in and support for caregivers

Caregivers may often become deterred from disclosing their caregiving responsibilities and nearly half have not informed their employers because they fear it will negatively impact their career.⁹ Building a culture of support and empathy for employees with caretaking responsibilities can help encourage openness, reduce stigma towards caregivers, and raise awareness around caregivers’ unique needs.

• Enable managers to support flexible arrangements. By supporting direct managers’ ability to offer flexible schedules or work arrangements to employees they supervise, organizations can help build a system of support at all levels.

• Create an employee resource group for workers who are also caregivers. This network can help promote visibility and provide shared resources and information on adult care, child daycare facilities, assistance programs, and in-home care.

• Encourage those in leadership positions to share stories of their own caregiving experiences. This can help reduce stigma and support an open dialogue around caregiving.

By offering flexibility and empathy to employees with caregiving responsibilities, employers can help encourage trust, promote employee growth, and build loyalty. Workers who feel that their employer cares about their well-being are more likely to report that they want to stay at their job for more than 10 years.¹⁰

Over the next 20 years, the US population of adults aged 65 and older is expected to exceed 80 million.¹¹ More than half of employers (51%) report that their workforces’ caregiving responsibilities have a negative impact on their productivity.¹² Employers have a unique opportunity to help address the demands placed on the growing population of caregivers today. Workplace policies and benefits that support caregivers will help employers invest in today’s changing workforce.