Of all the stressors confronting employees today, few are as anxiety-inducing as being a caregiver for an elderly adult. The employee may be part of the “sandwich generation” being squeezed between caregiving responsibilities for young children and elderly parents. Or they may find themselves unexpectedly thrust into the role of caregiver for a physically or mentally compromised spouse, partner or another older adult. Either way, the social, financial, and emotional pressures can be overwhelming.
For a host of reasons, the experience is becoming more and more common:
- According to the 2020 Census, “the U.S. population age 65 and over grew from 2010 to 2020 at the fastest rate since 1880 to 1890 and reached 55.8 million, a 38.6% increase in just 10 years.
- Statista, a global data and intelligence platform reports that over the past 160 years life expectancy has risen from 39.4 years in 1860 to 78.9 years in 2020.
- The nationwide birth rate dropped nearly 23% from 2007 to 2022 per Centers for Disease Control data – potentially meaning a workforce insufficient to support an aging population.
These factors exacerbate an already-challenging situation. In 2023, AARP reported the emotional stress that accompanies caring for an adult loved one is something that more than a third of family caregivers expressed. Four in 10 caregivers rarely or never feel relaxed. And more than half (56%) said that caregiving responsibilities make it difficult for them to care for their own mental health.
So given those pressures it’s not surprising that, increasingly, employees are looking for the companies they work for to help them. However, our research reveals a perception gap between employees and employers for care delivery in certain experiences, including those that are unplanned, have negative consequences and require care for an extended period. Certainly, caregiving responsibilities for an elderly adult fall into this category. Yet, it is a life experience in which the caregiver feels significantly less empathy than expected.
For their own good, as well as that of their workforce, companies must rise to this challenge. The approach employers take in utilizing employee benefits will be a key factor in closing that gap. How successful they are will have important ramifications for job satisfaction and, ultimately, talent management outcomes.
How benefits help companies meet the challenge of supporting caregivers
Our 2024 Employee Benefit Trends Study revealed that there are distinct moments and events not only at work but in their personal lives that have a profound impact on employee perceptions of being cared for. Suddenly being thrust into caregiving responsibilities for an adult family member or friend was one of the top moments we identified as having a care delivery gap. Organizations that demonstrate care for employees in those high-stress circumstances are more likely to improve the employee’s holistic well-being and enhance their own talent management outcomes.
An employee who finds themselves taking on the role of caregiver for an aging adult may find themselves facing a variety of unfamiliar pressures. They may need to take time in the middle of the day to speak with a medical professional or long-term care expert. Maybe they need an attorney’s help to designate a Power of Attorney. Financial decisions may need to be made regarding personal care, human services, and special needs.
These are just some of the myriad situations that may arise. But the good news is benefits can help. Access to legal help, mental health support, and financial counseling are all areas that caregivers are interested in. The 2024 EBTS states that “nearly two-thirds (63%) of employees say that their current benefits package helps reduce their overall stress. Nearly as many (61%) say their current benefits package helps reduce financial stress in particular. The more benefits employees are enrolled in, the higher their holistic health. Employees see their value, too; 65% of employees say their employer recognizes the importance of benefits for their overall well-being.”1
The Study goes on to mention that flexibility and supportive cultures are fundamental ways that employers can demonstrate care in situations where employees feel stressed. Access to mental health programs and resources can help a caregiver who is feeling overwhelmed. So can programs that help workers manage the tension between professional and personal responsibilities and support for physical and financial wellness.
In contrast, employers that underdeliver on care at these critical times may see declines in employee satisfaction, loyalty, employees’ sense of belonging and other key metrics. More importantly, workers who don’t feel cared for may conclude that the employer is not right for them and seek that level of care with another employer.
Providing “always-on” care is critical to preventing caregiver burnout
When employers demonstrate care in ways that meet or exceed employee expectations, it leads to improvements in the measures of a successful work life. Ultimately, employees have feelings of greater positivity toward the organization. Our research confirms that currently there exists a significant gap between employee expectations for care and what employers currently provide or deliver during many of these moments.
Employees have different expectations for care for different experiences. Some consistently expect higher levels of care and support than their employers provide. Those experiences include providing care for elderly relatives, as well as situations like bereavement and mental health episodes that impact productivity by playing havoc with emotions. Events of this type frequently require ongoing care and continuous support, especially for female employees who tend to take on the lion’s share of caregiving.
Companies can institute a variety of workplace policy measures to help caregivers navigate the challenges that arise. Some of these include:
- Providing strategies and programs to prevent burnout and promote well-being to positively impact the working caregiver's mental health and productivity.
- Committing to “always-on” care strategies that enable employers to provide support when an unexpected event or a change in circumstances happens.
- Actively recognizing the needs and challenges of elder care for employees and fostering a workplace environment that supports it.
- Offering key insights and recommendations to help HR managers and business owners support their employee caregivers through flexible workplace policies and programs.
At their most impactful, care strategies incorporate every element of the employee experience, including those outside of the workplace. Employers can make use of each element as a lever as they seek ways to enhance holistic health and improve talent outcomes. Specifically, employers can evaluate how key moments, events and experiences align with the specific elements of employee experience and which benefits and offerings can best address employee needs.
For some experiences, appropriate care responses will seem clear and relatively straightforward; employers can demonstrate care through specific offerings, such as training, wellness programs or insurance benefits. Others, such as helping to support employees who provide care for older adults, call for more creative solutions. Enhancements to the work environment, flexible work arrangements and proactive internal communications about benefits employees might not be aware of can help ease their stress and reinforce the organization’s commitment.
Benefits provide a strong foundation for organizations that want to provide tangible proof of their intent to support employees. But to do so effectively, companies need to go further and ensure that employees are taking advantage of their benefits and having a positive experience when using them. That will be the magic bullet for those trying to figure out which employee benefits to utilize across a wide variety of situations at different points throughout their careers.
Important ramifications for a rapidly evolving workforce
The U.S. population is older today than it has ever been and the number of Americans over 65 will continue to rapidly increase with profound implications for working caregivers. Forward-thinking employers will need to respond in kind, evolving their benefit packages and organizational policies to meet their demands by providing the kind of workplace flexibility that recognizes and supports a need for elder care that will only continue to grow in the years ahead.
Additionally, an increasingly heterogeneous workforce will compel employers across industries to satisfy the divergent needs of workers from a wide variety of generations, races, cultures and lifestyles. Non-traditional households, cultures with widely varying approaches to caring for aging family members, and the financial demands of providing such care will continue to test organizations’ ability to respond.
Our research indicates that enhancing employees’ perception of care in areas where they do not feel particularly cared for leads to better talent management outcomes. Employees who feel cared for report higher levels of holistic health and score higher on success indicators in both work and life. So, it should be no surprise that companies that meet the needs of employees who are caregivers will find that they score higher on metrics such as productivity, loyalty, employee engagement and sense of belonging. Which organizations are able to attract and retain the best talent – and thrive as a result -- will increasingly hinge on their ability to meet this challenge.