How employers can support caregivers coping with increased responsibilities

Enjoy this featured content by Platform Carrier Partner, Guardian.

There are an estimated 53 million US adults that provide care for an ill or disabled parent, spouse, or child.¹ Of these, nearly two-thirds (61%) also work a full- or part-time jobs.² During the early stages of the pandemic, even more of the US workforce provided care for a child or family member while working.

Employer support and workplace benefits that address caregivers’ needs are necessary for 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 make a meaningful difference for working caregivers. Seventy-two percent of caregivers versus 53% of non-caregivers rank flexibility and empathy from their employers as “highly important.”³ Moreover, employees rank flexibility and the ability to work remotely as the third most important factor that impacts their choice to work, or stay, at their organization following salary and benefits.⁴ 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 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 nine to five schedule won't always line up with their competing demands. Caregivers who are working full-time spend an average of nine hours per week as a caretaker; caretakers who work part-time spend over 16 hours a week. Consider offering flexible schedules to help with employees' personal situations and allow for their unique caretaking, health, or transportation needs.

Consider enhanced benefits

Employer-supported benefits can increase support for employees who are also caregivers, and research shows that they rely on benefits more than workers who don't have caregiving responsibilities. Just over half (51%) of employees say that they would face financial hardship without their workplace benefits. For those with dependents, that increases slightly to 54%.⁵

Ways employers can 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 are often deterred from disclosing their caregiving responsibilities and nearly half have not informed their employers because they fear it will negatively impact their career. Building a culture of support and empathy for employees with caretaking responsibilities can 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 build a system of support at all levels.
• Create an employee resource group for workers who are also caregivers. This network can 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 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.⁶

Over the next 20 years, the US population of adults age 65 and older is expected to exceed 80 million.⁷ More than half of employers (51%) report that the caregiving responsibilities of their workforces have a negative impact on their productivity.⁸ Employers have a unique opportunity to 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.

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¹ Caregiving in the United States 2020, AARP, May 14, 2020

² Ibid.

³ Workforce 2020: Meeting the benefits needs of today’s diverse workforce in a changed world, Guardian Workplace Benefits Study, 8th Annual, July 2020. All data is from this report unless otherwise indicated.

⁴ Guardian Workplace Benefits Study, 2022

⁵ Ibid.

⁶ New era, new values: Workers seek empathy and flexibility in a post-pandemic work world, Guardian Life, September 2022

⁷ Projected Future Growth of Older Population, Administration for Community Living, May 4, 2022.

⁸ Guardian Workplace Benefits Study, 2022