The plight of caregivers – and their growing numbers – became more apparent during the pandemic when four times as many Americans left work to care for adult family members than to care for children, The Washington Post reports. It is, they say, the second-largest factor keeping people out of the workforce. The need to balance a full-time job with part-time caregiving duties puts these employees at heightened risk of resignation.

But this wasn’t a pandemic-only phenomenon – lack of support has been knocking caregivers out of the workforce for decades. In addition, support for caregivers tends to focus on leave provided to new parents. However, caregivers include those assisting:

• Children
• Elderly parents and other relatives
• Partners or family members with significant mental or emotional needs
• Those with injuries or chronic health conditions

This puts a strain on caregivers affecting both work and home life, where they feel overworked, exhausted and, often, ineffective. Many caregivers don’t have great options for remaining in the workforce due to a lack of supportive policies and roles from the companies they work for. As a result, many ultimately leave their jobs and have trouble getting back into the workforce. Even those who stay on the job represent a form of risk to employers through absenteeism or reduced productivity, according to The New York Times.

The European Union has taken significant steps to address the issue, particularly through two policies:

• The 2019 Directive on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Careers, which provides a legal framework for supporting caregivers
• The European Care Strategy issued by the European Commission in 2022, outlining care systems and improved conditions for caregivers and care receivers.

In contrast, the United States and Asia-Pacific lag behind, and are projected to suffer growing economic consequences. According to BCG, “the U.S. will lose about $290 billion a year in GDP in 2030 and beyond if we fail to fix two critical care-economy dynamics: (1) the lack of available workers to fill a dramatically increasing number of these hands-on jobs, and (2) the departure of productive employees from the paid labor force to take on unpaid-care duties, whether they want to or not.” For context, BCG notes that economic loss is more than the annual revenue of the second-biggest U.S. technology company, Google’s parent company Alphabet. Another BCG report projects similar GDP losses by 2035 in six Asia-Pacific countries, where an aging population exacerbates the problem.

That means forward-thinking companies can fill talent gaps and improve worker retention by being creative and innovative in their approaches to supporting caregivers. Here we take a look at the payoff for caregiver support, challenges for both employers and employees, and examples from leading companies working to support and retain their caregivers. It starts with gathering data on caregiver demographics, and includes instituting new policies, training, and in some cases creative “returnship” programs designed to offer a clear and easy pathway for employees to return after an extended leave.

The value of supporting caregivers

Caregivers’ responsibilities span the lifetimes of those they care for – from newborns to those in hospice care. In fact, the demand skews to an older demographic needing care. While many think first of new parents when they think of employees with caregiving responsibilities, the responsibility goes beyond new parents. And there are a number of variations even within the ‘new parent’ category, says Kendra Mack, VP of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging with Kanarys, a technology firm that offers diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) benchmarking and other services.

“There are so many subsets,” Mack says. “Single parents, divorced parents who are trying to co-parent, parents of multiples, parents of children with special needs, and parents who are also caring for their aging parents or other family members.”

Employers can gain enormous value by broadening support to include more types of caregivers beyond new parents, Harvard Business Review (HBR) reports, indicating that 73% of U.S. employees are caregivers. A similar portion (71%) of workers globally have caregiving responsibilities, according to Mercer research.

That’s a number that is larger than most people realize, says Mack. “Traditionally, caregivers haven’t been included in DEIB conversations, so people are becoming more aware of just how large that group really is,” she says.

Despite the broad array of needs that extend beyond new parents, S&P Global research indicates that the focus of most caretaker programs and offerings favor parents over other caregivers. The research conducted along with AARP included a survey of 53 large U.S. companies. “Many companies don’t have a formal policy focused on employees providing care to aging relatives, family friends, or loved ones,” they say.

Beyond simply increasing the raw numbers of potential employees in the talent pool, caregivers have a lot to offer the organizations they work for. They have core competencies, experience, and institutional knowledge that are valuable to the organizations they work for. Authors of the HBR article point to results of their own research at the Rutgers Center for Women in Business which identified the top workplace skills caregivers develop, including:

• Empathy (48.6%)
• Efficiency (38.9%)
• Tenacity/persistence (33.6%)
• Prioritizing tasks (29.8%)
• Patience (27.5%)
• Teamwork (27.5%)
• Emotional intelligence (25.2%)
• Anticipating needs (20.6%)

Susan Van Klink, an executive coach and corporate advisor, agrees that caregivers have a lot to offer. “The caregivers in your organization are probably the most loyal, dedicated, and hardworking individuals that you would potentially hire into the organization or want to keep in the organization.” A caregiver herself, Van Klink notes that it takes a lot of dedication and sacrifice to serve in that role while also holding down a job.

Mack has also found these employees to bring a lot of value to the organization. “This is such a great population of talent. They’re resilient. They’re multifaceted. They can just be such a productive and loyal talent base.”

Missing out on these benefits is just one of the challenges employers face if they fail to focus on this growing demographic.

The challenges faced by caregivers

Since most employers don’t track caregiving status, there is a lack of supportive infrastructure for this large segment of the workforce. This lack of support creates challenges for employees, along with the stress associated with attempting to balance work and caregiving duties.

Van Klink, a passionate advocate for caregivers, shared her personal experience as a caregiver in a viral LinkedIn post two years ago. She detailed the challenges she faced while caring for her terminally ill father and expressed gratitude to her then-employer, Grokker, an employee wellness technology company, for providing her with extra time to manage her caregiving responsibilities. Despite the support, though, she made the difficult decision to leave her job to see her father through his end-of-life journey.

Van Klink’s caregiving responsibilities continued as she and her husband began fostering her niece’s newborn son, who was born addicted and needed a safe place to live while his parents were recovering. As they didn’t have children of their own, this presented a steep learning curve for them.

Van Klink emphasizes the reality of caregiver fatigue and advocates for those trying to balance work and caregiving responsibilities. She underscores the importance of employer support in managing the challenges that come with caregiving.

In many cases, Van Klink says, employers – and even managers and HR staff – are unaware of employees’ caregiving duties. Caregivers aren’t always relatives, she notes. They can be friends – even employers. She shares an example of a friend of hers who, along with her husband, helped support their nanny during her final days as she was struggling with cancer. Today, they continue to care for her dog. “We do this for the people we love, regardless of that relationship,” she says.

Companies that take steps to proactively engage with caregivers in their midst, though, can offer programs and support that can serve to both keep them on the job and help minimize their stress and anxiety.

Caregiver support in action

Not tracking caregiver status keeps many companies from understanding how these issues affect the organization. However, a number of leading organizations do offer caregiving support in various forms, providing examples and strategies of how to build a program in your own organization.

For example, through its employee assistance program (EAP) Resources for Living, Walmart offers support that goes beyond child care, including elder care and care for adults with disabilities, respite services for caregivers, support groups, and referrals to community resources. They also offer an automated, interactive voice-response telephone support system for caregivers.

In 2018, well before the pandemic, Johnson & Johnson recognized the need for caregiver aid, describing itself as “a company of families.” The company has a national strategy for caregiving, recognizing that interventions at the community level could help caregivers better cope with the challenges they face.

Starbucks offers an array of partner and family services, including a Caring Unites Partners (CUP) Fund which, through donations, offers grants during times of special needs.

Smaller companies can offer support, too. At Kanarys, CEO Mandy Price “really instills a culture of flexibility,” Mack says. “We all have an understanding on our teams that if someone needs to block off some time to go pick up their kids, or to take a family member to a doctor’s appointment, or anything like that, they can do it.”

Following are four strategies any company can apply to strengthen its workforce by engaging caregivers.

Gathering data

An important first step, says Mack, is gathering data to determine your company’s caregiver demographics. How many employees have caregiving responsibilities and what types of responsibilities do they have? This can help determine the types of programs, services, and policies that could best support this population. For instance, if a significant number of employees are caring for elderly parents, the company might consider implementing flexible work hours, elder care benefits, or even partnerships with local elder care services. On the other hand, if the data reveals a high number of employees with young children, the company might focus on improving childcare benefits or creating a supportive environment for working parents.

SHRM reports that companies are beginning to track employees’ caregiver status to better support them, pointing to Synchrony, a consumer banking company with 18,000 employees, as one example. Synchrony asks employees about their caregiver status during the company’s annual survey, allowing them anonymity. “They’ve used the information they’ve gathered to help design supportive benefits, including the ability for employees to take a one-year sabbatical to care for children or aging parents.”

Open up conversations about caregiving

It’s also important to open up conversations about caregiving to normalize that caregiving is not a detriment, but a strength. Some employees dealing with caregiving responsibilities, Van Klink says, are afraid to bring it up to their employers. “In response to my posts that applauded my employer for being so supportive, I’ve had people tell me they’ve had the opposite experience. People have been fired for being a caregiver. And, of course, people who desperately need their jobs are less likely to disclose that they have a competing interest at home,” she says.

Company leaders and HR teams can introduce conversations about the topic of caregiving – while respecting and protecting employees’ privacy – and encourage leaders and managers to share their own experiences if they feel comfortable doing so.

Train managers and supervisors to support caregiver needs

Managers play an important role in supporting employees in their caregiving needs. They are, after all, the primary point of contact for employees and the ones most directly responsible for ensuring that employees’ work/life needs are met.

Monica Martin, senior director, Integrated and Global Solutions, and Total Rewards leader with WTW, a multinational HR consulting firm, says that managers need education, training, and communication to understand the support available to employees and how they can help employees access support and resources. Managers, she says, “have a tough job, especially when it comes to caregiving responsibilities, and I think that companies that are doing it well are those that are transparent and communicate with their managers.” It’s important, she says, for managers to fully understand what kinds of support and resources are available for employees with caregiving responsibilities.

Create communities for caregivers

It’s become common for organizations to have employee resource groups (ERGs) for employees from various diverse backgrounds to connect around shared interests. But, as Mack noted, caretakers aren’t generally considered to be one of these groups. That’s not the case at Kanarys, which has several ERGs, including one focused on caregivers. ERGs, Mack says, “can definitely be very encouraging and increase that feeling of belonging.” They also provide a place for caregivers to share tips and best practices, she says. “Being able to have a space where people who are experiencing the same things lends itself to helping employees feel less alone, and they gain a sense of belonging and feel understood.”

In addition, Mack says, “ERGs are a great place to bring in speakers or have educational sessions where caretakers can learn how to streamline processes or just make things a bit easier to help them manage the workload.”

Consider creating a returnship program

As we’ve seen, it’s not uncommon for caregivers to leave their jobs because of the demands on them. Supportive programs can help minimize these departures, but if employees do leave, there are steps companies can take to pave the way for their return.

The term returnship is used differently at different organizations, says John Bremen, chief strategy, innovation & acceleration officer at WTW. But, he says, the term commonly refers to formal programs that are structured similarly to internship programs and offer a timeline for return along with onboarding, training, and other support.

Quartz reports that a strong U.S. job market has created new interest in the concept of returnship programs. Christine Winston of Path Forward, a company that connects returning employees with companies, says that in 2016 when Path Forward got started there were 100 companies offering returnships in the United States; now there are between 200 and 225.

Path Forward offers several success stories about employees who have successfully returned to the workplace through proactive efforts by their organizations to keep them engaged and create a pathway back. SAP also has a returnship program, now in its fourth year; it offers a 20-week paid returnship in North America for professionals with five or more years of work experience who have taken a career break of two or more years for caregiving, relocation, or military service.

Employers can also create pathways for employees from other organizations who have taken a break and want to reenter the workforce. HRO Today points to Unanet, a software company, as one example. Their Encore program recruits people with prior experience who have been out of the workforce for an extended period.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light the magnitude of caregiving responsibilities that employees face and generated an awareness of the need to provide support to keep these employees on board, engaged, and productive. Caregivers, encompassing a broad spectrum of roles beyond new parents, bring invaluable skills such as empathy, efficiency, and tenacity to organizations. But they can struggle to balance the competing responsibilities of their jobs and their caregiving demands.

Embracing caregiver support is not just an ethical choice; it’s also a strategic imperative. By fostering a supportive work environment and implementing innovative strategies to meet caregivers’ unique needs, businesses can access an underutilized talent pool while enhancing employee engagement, loyalty, and longevity.