{"id":12735,"date":"2020-01-22T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/caregiving-support-retains-top-talent\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T16:08:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T21:08:04","slug":"caregiving-support-retains-top-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/caregiving-support-retains-top-talent\/","title":{"rendered":"Caregiving Support Retains Top Talent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Employee benefits that support their caregiving efforts are rapidly growing<\/a> in importance. Workers that care for elderly parents or other relatives devote resources, time, and energy after work hours\u2014often at the expense of their own personal health, wellness, and productivity. As a result, it\u2019s having a direct impact on companies\u2019 abilities to retain and attract top talent.<\/p>\n

New research<\/a> has found that 57% of the workforce are providing care for an older relative and 36% are caring for children under 18 years of age. As the baby boomer generation ages, more employees will continue to find themselves as caregivers. The effects on workforce productivity and retention are significant. With the push for return-to-office and rising childcare costs, it’s more challenging than ever for caregivers, especially mothers of young children, to balance work and family responsibilities.<\/p>\n

On average, these caregiver-workers spend about 29 hours per week taking care of a family member. Over a third of them ultimately quit their jobs because of the inability to manage their work schedules with caregiving responsibilities\u2014and, according to a survey from Harvard Business School, this includes some of the most experienced and senior-level workers.<\/p>\n

Additionally, as more workers prioritize a holistic approach to wellness and a healthy work-life balance, companies that offer benefits to best support and accommodate caregiving responsibilities will be able to attract and retain the best talent.<\/p>\n

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Supporting Caregiver-Employees With Wellness Benefits<\/h2>\n

Oftentimes, the struggles an employee faces as a caregiver go unnoticed. Personal and family issues may not be vocalized; or, for an otherwise healthy employee, it may be surprising to learn their time away from the office is so hectic, stressful, and busy. Over half of companies report that they do not track any data on their employees\u2019 caregiving duties. As this becomes a more relevant issue, it\u2019s important to remain mindful of the substantial effects that caregiving can have on a workforce\u2019s mental health, personal finances, and overall well-being.<\/p>\n

Recently, Wellable\u2019s 2020 Wellness Industry Trends Report looked in-depth at how companies are supporting caregivers. The survey explored which benefits employers are planning to invest in to address this and found that flexible schedule options were most favored. However, there are many ways a wellness program can support caregiving needs.<\/p>\n