A majority of employers in a recent survey say they are providing flexible work options, and an increasing number are providing paid leave specifically for caregiving.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only accentuated the already growing number employees shouldering caregiving responsibilities, according to the 2019/2020 "Caregiving and the Workplace: Employer Benchmarking Survey" by the Northeast Business Group on Health.

"The challenges for employee-caregivers have increased exponentially as a result of the risk for COVID-19 among older and vulnerable people, social distancing requirements, and 24/7 childcare responsibilities," says Candice Sherman, CEO of NEBGH. "Employers are trying to increase support for caregiving employees by providing more back-up help, flexible working hours and access to expert resources, and some are providing relief funds to help with expenses."

Related: How to help employees who are caregivers during the COVID-19 crisis

The survey of 117 mostly large, U.S. employers was conducted in late 2019 and early 2020, before the country experienced a significant coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown orders from states and cities. The survey results show that caregiving was already on the rise among the respondents' workforce.

As a result, a significant majority of the respondents (78 percent) say caregiving will be an increasingly important issue over the next five years, and 60 percent say it's already top priority for them. Nearly half (45 percent) believe they are on par with similar organizations in developing caregiving-friendly benefits, while 23 percent see themselves as below or well below average.

A majority (71 percent) of the respondents are providing flexible work options, and an increasing number are providing paid leave specifically for caregiving (23 percent in this year's survey compared to 11 percent in the 2017 survey). Increasing leave for caregiving and implementing flexible work arrangements are at the top of the respondents' caregiving wish lists.

Other key survey findings include:

• 91 percent of employers recognize that caregivers may abandon self-care, a 17 percent increase from 2017.
• Employers know that employees may not be comfortable identifying their caregiving status to managers – less than 50 percent thought they would be.
• 84 percent of employers believe that having a caregiving-friendly workplace is important for retaining and attracting talent – a 9 percent increase from 2017.
• 58 percent of respondents think their C-suite is supportive of caregiving policies. – a 14 percent increase from 2017 (but 38 percent are not sure how supportive the C-suite would be and that therefore building a business case is necessary).

The Northeast Business Group on Health also polled 34 California employers to see how their responses differ from NEBGH respondents, most of who are based in or near New York City. While their responses are similar to the topline questions about prioritizing caregiver needs, there are some key areas in which employers differed in their responses, depending on region:

• Only 9 percent of the California employers believe their employees are uncomfortable identifying their caregiver status to managers or colleagues, vs. 23 percent of NEBGH members.
• But 26 percent of California respondents think employees would be reluctant to use caregiving benefits vs. 10 percent of respondents in the NYC metro area.
• 59 percent of the California employers have caregiving leave of four or more weeks, compared to 41 percent of New York counterparts.
• Subsidized in-home back-up care is offered by less than 50 percent of NEBGH employers but roughly three-quarters of the California employers.
• Access to free/low-cost resources to support caregivers is provided by 50 percent of California respondents vs. 23 percent of NEBGH members.
• 47 percent of the California employers who responded accommodate flexible schedules versus 39 percent in New York.
• 46 percent of employers from NEBGH have issues communicating caregiving benefits to their employees, and 61 percent have those challenges in California.
• 45 percent of California employers think they are ahead of their peers in offering caregiving-friendly benefits compared to 31 percent of NEBGH employers.

Read more: 

• Poor health affects nearly 20 percent of caregivers
• How to prepare for the new era of caregiving
• Addressing the caregiver crisis in the workforce