Tailoring caregiver support can stop workplace attrition
America is experiencing a caregiving crisis (Boston Consulting Group) that is significantly impacting talent attraction, retention, and advancement -- particularly of women and historically marginalized communities.
“There are over 48 million Americans taking care of a family member; 68% of them are women and 68% of them are in the workforce,” says Veronica Segovia Bedon, Program Management Director – Family Caregiving, AARP. It’s for this reason that Molly Day, COO, Moms First, sees it as imperative that the private sector “really name it [childcare] as a workforce issue that is not a social issue off here on the side, but actually core to you being successful.”
Bedon and Day joined industry leaders to provide key actionable insights in a framework for effective solutions: understand the caregiving challenges employees face, recognize the business case for providing caregiving benefits, and tailor solutions to the unique needs of your employees.
Understanding caregiving challenges
In order to devise effective solutions, businesses need to fully understand the problem. Time and money are two top challenges working caregivers face. Liz O’Donnell, Founder of Working Daughter, says that the results of the American Time Use Survey, a quarterly gauge by the US Census Bureau of how Americans spend their time, found that a woman who has a child under 18 and a parent over 65 has tasks that average 25.5 hours per day. “We know there are 24 hours in a day,” O’Donnell says. “So, I see time as the massive issue in just the math doesn't work.”
Sevogia Bedon says that AARP’s surveys show that the cost of caregiving is the top concern. Day supported this by pointing out that “Within this last year, childcare costs outpaced housing as the most expensive costs for families.” She then drew attention to the fact that the high cost of caregivers forces many people to drop out of the workforce, reducing the talent pool. A study by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) “found that nearly half of women who are currently not working would like to work, but the barrier for them is the lack of access to affordable childcare,” Day says.
Recognize the ROI of caregiving benefits
Since “businesses cannot work without women and women, who are nearly 50% of our workforce, can't work without childcare,” Day says, “this isn't just about delivering for women's needs. This is an economic imperative for businesses and our economy.”
A survey that Day’s organization did with BPC found that “every single company in our study had a positive ROI up to 425%. We also saw that by retaining just 1% of the eligible employees, that actually allows you to cover the full cost of the benefits you provide.”
Charlie Bonello, CEO & Founder, Vivvi, says his own research echoes Day’s and adds that caregiving benefits “boost productivity, both for logistical reasons, like fewer absences, and because they increase workers’ focus and motivation.” His survey found that most respondents would stay in their jobs at least four more years and they would work in person more than required if their employer had back-up or subsidized childcare. Caregiver support also attracts talent: “Candidates actively seek out caregiving benefits,” Bonello says.
“Providing a day of emergency back-up care benefit is less expensive than paying for a day of PTO,” Bonello points out. He also reminded companies that they should “take advantage of tax credits when they can at the federal and state level as they're pretty significant…reimbursing up to 50% percent of their expenses.”
Collect data to tailor effective solutions
The organizations in the BPC study that reported high ROI varied in size, industry, and demographics, but one thing they had in common was tailoring their support to the unique needs of their employees.
“Our research really shows there's no one-size-fits-all solution. What the most effective thing you can do is to really identify your employees' needs and customize your benefits accordingly,” Day advises. Bonello cautions that caregiving benefits should be equitable, including elder care as well as childcare, and ensure that they address the needs of frontline workforce as well as in-office and remote employees.
To bring to the forefront how prevalent the role of caregiver is, Day quoted Rosalynn Carter: "There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers." O’Donnell notes, “Many of us are going to be on this continuum and our needs will change; employees will tell you if you just ask.” She says a care census is critical as some types of caregiving are invisible and mutable.
As examples of solutions that Vivvi devises for companies, Bonello mentions 24/7 onsite childcare facilities at manufacturing plants, back-up care, and “care cash,” which provides funds for solutions that employees secure independently.
Day says that employers shouldn’t assume that employees know that caregiving benefits might be an option. “When you are designing these surveys, it's important to ask people about what's happening in their lives, not just the benefits they think they want, because I think that's where you're going to get to the right solutions.” She added that employers should do the census more than once since employees’ needs can emerge or evolve over time.
The business opportunity of providing tailored caregiving benefits is apparent. “The companies that are leading on this, you will be rewarded with the best talent, the best teams, the best business outcomes,” Day says.
The full conversation is available to Supporters in Catalyst’s “Caregiving & careers: Navigating the evolving landscape of workplace support” webinar.
Also see Childcare is a business imperative.