More than 50 million workers in the US spend a significant portion of their non-working hours serving as primary caregivers for dependents and family members, which can have substantial impacts on both work life and home life and presents an opportunity for employers to offer benefits and services to their employees that can work to everyone’s mutual advantage.
About 1 out of every 6 employees spends approximately 20 hours a week on average taking care of a relative or friend in need of assistance, and it may be worth explicitly noting at the outset that this labor almost always goes unpaid, which can make it all the more difficult to manage work duties and caregiving responsibilities without sacrificing personal well being.
Further, these numbers are likely to keep rising as ‘the sandwich generation’ - made up of people that are simultaneously shouldering caregiving responsibilities for children and aging parents, and largely composed of women between the ages of 40 and 60 - continues to grow.
In order to best help employees navigate the complexities of balancing their many responsibilities at work and at home, employers would be wise to seek feedback directly from employees themselves to learn more about what kind of assistance would be most useful, which can then inform the subsequent process of implementing changes to benefits package offerings that provide better support to caregivers
One of the most important factors to bear in mind when considering the lived experience that caregiving employees endure is the high rate of burnout. Caregiving itself can be a volatile undertaking with moments of great reward interspersed with moments that require great patience on the part of the caregiver, at which point a little flexibility in work scheduling can make a meaningful improvement in the affected employee’s ability to bounce back and stay focused on their work when executing work-related tasks.
It’s also a good idea for employers to recognize the guilt and stress that caregivers regularly internalize as they struggle to meet their daily demands, especially given the massive shortages in childcare and senior care which often leave people with no good options at no fault of their own.
In light of all of these considerations, employers have an opportunity to step in and fill some crucial gaps in employee needs that are currently not being met simply by approaching these situations with understanding and flexibility, and of course by offering practical benefits and perks that can directly assist employees in balancing caregiving, work responsibilities, and mental health.
Some of the practical benefits for employers to consider incorporating into their offerings that can help address the issues caregiver employees face include broadly applicable options like remote or hybrid-work scheduling, but some offerings are much more specific to servicing caregiving employee needs, like assisting employees with Family Medical Leave Act navigation and optimization, or directing employees through resources such as the AARP’s Employer Caregiving Toolkit or the Caregiver Support Network.
Employers can also offer services that indirectly assist employees with managing some tangential responsibilities that accompany their caregiving role, including the preparation of legal documents, assigning power of attorney, and with mental health and wellness support.
As the portion of the workforce that covers these kinds of caregiving responsibilities continues to grow, employer understanding and support when it comes to accommodating caregiving will become increasingly valuable to employers and employees alike.
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