A growing number of employers are becoming aware that workersare providing greater hands-on support to aging parents and otherfamily members — and that employers can help through employeebenefits, according to the report, “Caregiving Growing in Importance to Employers,”by the Northeast Business Group on Health in collaboration withAARP.

NEBGH surveyed benefits managers from 129 U.S. employers andfound that two-thirds (66 percent) agree that during the next fiveyears, caregiving will become an increasinglyimportant issue to their workers. Nearly half (45 percent) saycaregiving benefits are within their top 10 priorities for employeehealth and benefit issues, while 12 percent say it’s within theirtop five priorities.

However, 32 percent say they are unable to address the issue,and 11 percent say it’s not even on their radar.

“Our aging population means that more employees — andmillennials, specifically — will be providing some typeof help to sick or immobile loved ones, from preparing mealsand providing transportation to doctors’ appointments, toperforming more onerous responsibilities,” says Jeremy Nobel,executive director of NEBGH’s Solutions Center. “The implicationsof this trend are significant not only for workplace productivity,but for employee population health and health care costs— caregivers tend to abandon their own physical and emotionalneeds and employers need to plan for how to respond.”

Most companies that responded let their workers use sick,vacation or personal days to care for another; a majority offerflexible work schedules, and some offer paid family medical leave.However, few offer paid leave that can be used for parental orcaregiving and even fewer — just 14 — offer paid leaveexclusively for caregiving (separate from parental leave).

Moreover, while a majority offer an employee assistance programand/or a work-life program, not many of those programs haveservices specific to caregivers. Less than one-third of respondentsprovide access to caregiver support or employee resource groups;counseling, coaching or wellness programs specific to supporting caregivers themselves; subsidizedin-home back-up care, such as Bright Horizons; or access to free orlow-cost resources to support caregivers.

“Caregiving as a benefits issue is on the radar of mostemployers, but there is wide variation in the support employersprovide for employee-caregivers,” says Laurel Pickering, presidentand chief executive of NEBGH. “Employers cite absence of employerbenchmarks and best practices for caregiving, lack of financialresources and lack of data to identify caregivers, as the greatestbarriers to becoming more caregiving friendly.”

Survey respondents ranked the greatest drivers that would make acompelling case for investment in “caregiving-friendly” benefits,programs and resources: an increase in productivity; a decrease inabsenteeism; reduced health care costs; an enhanced ability torecruit and retain talent; and anecdotal evidence of the emotionalimpact on employees who are caregivers.

“Family caregiving is an issue that affects the vast majority ofus. We are either caregivers now, have been in the past, will be inthe future or will need care ourselves,” says Nancy LeaMond, AARP’schief advocacy and engagement officer. “Of today’s 40 millionfamily caregivers, 24 million are juggling caregivingresponsibilities and employment. By recognizing and supportingtheir needs, employers can improve productivity and foster a stableand healthy workforce. It is great to see so many leading employersopen to understanding this issue better, and we are pleased to beworking together to help America’s family caregivers.”