New Research on Importance of Workplace Policies Inclusive of Caregivers

New research on employed caregivers reinforces a reality that millions of working professionals already live every day. Caregiving does not stop at childcare, and workplace policies that focus only on parents of young children leave a growing population unseen.

These findings underscore the need for organizational policies that explicitly address eldercare. While many companies now offer some level of childcare support, eldercare remains largely neglected. This gap has real consequences for employees, teams, and organizations.

Millions of workers are providing care for aging parents, spouses, relatives, or chosen family members. Many are doing so quietly, without formal accommodations, flexible schedules, or even language within their workplace policies that acknowledges their reality. Too often, caregiving is treated as a personal issue rather than a structural workforce reality.

The result is predictable. Caregivers reduce hours, work invisible hours during non-traditional times in the day, are overlooked for leadership opportunities, become underemployed or unemployed, or carry unsustainable stress that affects health, productivity, and retention. Organizations lose experienced talent, institutional knowledge, and trust.

This is not a fringe issue. It is a workforce issue. It is a societal issue. It is a cultural issue.

At Professionals Who Care, we see this moment as both a warning and an opportunity. Employers have the ability to act, and the research points to clear, practical steps that can make a meaningful difference.

Employers can implement flexible work arrangements that recognize caregiving as ongoing and often unpredictable. Flexibility does not mean lower standards. It means designing work in ways that allow people to meet both professional and family responsibilities without penalty.

Caregiver support networks are another powerful tool. When employees are able to connect with peers who understand their experience, isolation decreases and engagement increases. These networks also provide organizations with real-time insight into what caregivers need, rather than relying on assumptions.

Training programs are equally critical. Caregiver bias often shows up subtly, through assumptions about availability, ambition, or reliability. Training managers to recognize and reduce this bias improves decision-making, strengthens teams, and builds a culture of trust and fairness.

What matters most is that eldercare is named. When policies explicitly acknowledge eldercare, employees no longer have to translate their reality into language that fits a narrower definition of caregiving. Visibility signals belonging.

Caregiving will touch nearly every family at some point. Forward-thinking organizations understand that supporting caregivers is not just a benefit, it is a retention strategy, a leadership strategy, and a values statement.

The research is clear. The experiences of caregivers are clear. What comes next is a choice.

At Professionals Who Care, we work with leaders, organizations, and advocates to ensure caregivers are not forced to choose between their livelihoods and the people they love. Inclusive workplaces are not built by accident. They are built by design.

Now is the time to design for the full reality of caregiving.

Read more on the research at: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/9/547