The Business Impact of Caregiving

Why Employee Support Is Becoming a Strategic Priority

Caregiving responsibilities are increasingly showing up in the workplace and affecting employees who might not be receiving the support they need. Unsupported caregiving costs the employers just as much as their employees, making caregiving support a strategic priority. Organizations that proactively support caregivers will be better positioned to increase productivity, attract and retain talent, and impact the employee experience.

Productivity

Productivity of employees is one of the most important factors of successful organizations. It helps workers reach goals faster with less effort. Employees who are productive enhance the quality of customer care, input valuable suggestions to their teams, and collectively boost morale, leading to better teamwork and cooperation.

Employees who are managing caregiving responsibilities with their work—whether caring for an aging loved one or children—can find it hard to be productive without the right services. Nearly one in four working caregivers report lost productivity due to absenteeism or presenteeism, with productivity declining by roughly one-third among those affected. Their administrative burden and schedule interruptions affect their ability to get things done faster and the mental bandwidth that comes with caregiving can cause stress and distraction.

Research that measured the effects of work loss on productivity suggest that when employees miss work or are distracted, absences and distraction disrupt team workflows, delay time-sensitive work, and require costly replacement efforts. In short: the true productivity loss to employers is often significantly greater than the direct labor cost of missed or distracted time.

Retention

Organizational growth is unlikely to happen without retaining top talent. Recruiting and retaining new employees is expensive and time-consuming. Institutional knowledge leaves along with those leaving a company. That information or skill can be lost, take time to rebuild, and cause confusion for employees left behind. Additionally, new hires can take one to two years to reach the same productivity as previous employees.

Caregiving while working is a burden that can require caregivers to rethink their career decisions, to manage affording to live while caring for loved ones. They might need to reduce hours or search for more supportive employers that allow them to exist in both spaces.

Gallup estimates that voluntary turnover costs U.S. businesses nearly $1 trillion each year. Because of this, supporting caregivers can be a valuable strategy for retaining experienced talent and minimizing business disruption. Overall, retention helps boost morale, increase productivity and customer experience, improve revenue and ROI, and links to higher employee engagement.

Employee Experience

Employee experience influences employee engagement as well as productivity and retention. Employees who feel supported in balancing their personal and professional responsibilities are more likely to remain engaged and committed to their work.

Caregivers, who are dealing with competing demands of caregiving and employment, can experience more strain in their experience. The threshold for stress and burnout decreases significantly and can impact how they engage with work and how loyal they are to a company. Research from Harvard Business School found that 80% of employees say caregiving responsibilities affect their productivity. A report from SHRM found that organizations with a proactive approach to supporting caregivers reported substantially higher levels of employee engagement compared to organizations that take a reactive approach.

The Opportunity

Caregiving is a workforce trend that will continue to increase due to demographic shifts like an aging population and changing family dynamics. As employees manage extra caregiving roles, traditional benefits are not enough to keep them present and engaged. So how should organizations respond to such a workforce at risk? This is the question that Uprise Health is helping to solve.

Organizations that address caregiving solutions gain an advantage in recruitment, retention, engagement, and wellbeing by relieving the unpaid-care burden. By responding to a workforce increasingly impacted by caregiving demands through targeted solutions, they can support employees across every stage of caregiving.

Uprise AgeWell provides personalized care navigation, family planning tools, grief and bereavement support, and seamless connections to EAP resources, helping employees manage the complexities of caring for aging loved ones while remaining focused and engaged at work. Uprise ParentHood delivers whole-family support through parenting concierges, expert-led education, maternity and postpartum nursing support, and proactive guidance tailored to key parenting milestones, helping reduce the stress, distraction, and burnout that can affect job performance.

Together, these solutions move beyond traditional benefits. They address the challenges employees face outside of work, creating a more supportive experience while improving engagement, productivity, and retention.

When talking about the future of work, include caregiver support with the help of Uprise Health. Speak with us today to get started.