A growing number of companies believe that taking care of employees and their families are at least partially a company's responsibility. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Overwhelming, exhausting, unsustainable. These three words fall short of adequately describing the demands placed on the over 43 million people in the United States who currently provide unpaid care to a family member. Fifty-two percent of these caregivers are also employed full- or part-time; yet their employer only knows about 56 percent of them. Add to these statistics an aging population and increased longevity, and many experts have indicated an impending health crisis is on the horizon.

To their credit, caregiver advocates have been pushing for public policies to be created at a national level to address this growing stressor on Americans. With the recent enactment of RAISE— the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage Family Caregivers Act—a range of diverse stakeholders, including family caregivers, health care and social service providers, and employers, will soon come together to develop a national family-caregiving strategic plan.

Related: 3 ways to support employee caregivers