S&P Global and AARP conducted an online survey of 505 HR professionals working for US companies with more than 1,000 employees. Respondents were screened to ensure they work on benefits; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI); talent management; or employee relations. Data was cleaned to eliminate multiple responses from one company. The survey was fielded during February and March 2024. The sample is not representative of all HR professionals in the US, nor was the data weighted. In addition to the survey, researchers conducted five interviews with HR professionals who work for a US company with a headcount over 1,000.

AARP and S&P Global also analyzed workplace benefit and policy data from Equileap, a leading provider of workplace Diversity, Equity & Inclusion data, enabling responsible investors to make informed decisions and have a positive impact since 2017. The data used for this report includes information on 1,503 public companies in the US, updated as of the third quarter of 2023. 

While employers may be motivated to adopt caregiver policies or benefits for both employee and company health, barriers remain. Nearly three in four respondents expressed fear that employees could take advantage of these policies or that they would have a negative impact on other staff members who would need to take on
more work. Employers’ lack of knowledge about what caregiver benefits and policies should look like is another big hurdle. In interviews with HR professionals, several mentioned cost as the top concern when evaluating new benefits, along with staying competitive in their field.

Enacting caregiver-friendly policies may be more challenging for employers with a high proportion of hourly workers. HR respondents at companies where 75% or more of the workforce is hourly were more likely than those at firms with lower hourly workforce percentages to indicate that barriers were standing in the way of their ability to provide benefits and policies to support caregivers. These barriers included cost, fear of workers taking advantage of the programs, negative impacts on other staff who may have to pick up slack, and insufficient capacity to support flexible schedules. Employers with a significant proportion of hourly staff may benefit from guidance on how to enact caregiver policies suitable for their work environments. 

Formal caregiving policies can help caregivers navigate a challenging situation, but even official policies may fall short in meeting caregiver needs if the person who needs care is not covered. Findings from the National Alliance of Caregiving (NAC) and AARP study Caregiving in the US show 10% of family caregivers provide care for a non- relative. HR professionals from companies with a formal caregiving policy report the company’s policies cover caregiving for a range of adults, but less than half (41%) include unmarried partners, and only 8% of policies cover care for other non-relatives. 

Managers play a role in helping employees use their benefits, but they are not the main messengers. Employers promote their benefits frequently, and most often at a companywide level. Sixty-nine percent of HR professionals reported promoting benefits during open enrollment, 65% during employee onboarding, and 64% throughout the year. Fewer than half (40%) said that managers were trained to communicate benefits to their direct reports throughout the year. Holding managers accountable for promoting benefits was not a high priority for most companies, and most managers had some flexibility in their employees’ use of company benefits and policies. Companies with at least 10,000 employees are less likely to give managers discretion over employees’ use of benefits. One-fifth (22%) of respondents from employers with 10,000-plus employees reported they never allow managers to use their own discretion for employee benefits, compared with 14% of employers with fewer than 10,000 employees. 

When asked which caregiver-focused benefits are available, the most common response was that caregivers can use paid leave that is not specifically designated for caregiving. This aligns with the finding that employer policies for caregivers are often informal. This approach to benefits can allow for the personalization of policies to suit a caregiver’s unique situation. However, it may also leave caregivers with the added stress of navigating a patchwork of HR policies to get the support they need. It may also require caregivers to repurpose their sick or vacation time, making it more difficult for them to care for themselves, and therefore be able to provide long-term care and to be a productive employee also. 

Many organizations have specific caregiving-related benefits in place. Two-thirds (67%) of HR professionals reported that their employer offers tools and resources on legal or financial matters. Support groups for caregivers, which can help caregivers learn from each other and find approaches to issues at work and at home, are also common. Slightly more than half of respondents reported their employer offers paid leave for caregivers of adults. The availability of caregiver benefits does not vary much between companies with between 1,000 and 9,999 employees and companies with 10,000-plus employees. 

Most caregivers also have access to benefits that can be used for any reason but may help in a caregiving situation. More than four-fifths of employers offered an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), tools to help with mental health, and flexible work schedules or locations. 

A key finding from Working while caregiving: It’s complicated showed caregivers value flexibility because it allows them to balance their work and home responsibilities, which can include providing support to the person they care for during the traditional 9-to-5 workday. This study found most companies offer flexibility in both work location and hours when they can. About 70% of HR professionals reported that at least a quarter of their employees can opt for a hybrid schedule where they work from home at least some of the time.

Interviews with HR professionals show they understand the importance of flexibility to working caregivers, and most intend to keep these policies in place or expand them. Around one in four employers plans to expand access to hybrid options. Companies where at least one-quarter of workers are hourly are driving these plans to expand access to hybrid options. 

State and local legislatures increasingly recognize the need to support working caregivers of adults. In recent years, 13 states and the District of Columbia passed paid family leave laws that include leave for caregiving. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia, as well as local jurisdictions, have paid sick leave laws. Four states and 200 local jurisdictions have caregiver anti-discrimination laws that protect parents or caregivers of adults from discrimination at work. As of 2023, 11 states covered caregiving for family members beyond the minimum requirement established by the Family and Medical Leave Act (e.g., grandparents, siblings). For the most part, surveyed HR professionals say they are aware whether the state laws requiring paid family leave apply to them. The outlier was whether state unemployment insurance allows claims based on family responsibility, with one in five respondents surveyed not being sure. 

Employers have working caregivers of adults on their radar and see benefits in supporting them through caregiver-friendly policies and benefits. The increase in adoption of flexibility in work hours and work location — a boon to working caregivers largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic — remains in place at most organizations. However, workplace policies for caregivers can be informal and uneven, impeding access for some caregivers. Positive examples of workplace caregiver policies and benefits can help assuage employers’ concerns about misuse of time off and lack of knowledge about what these policies look like in practice. 

Companies can adopt caregiver-supportive policies and benefits, even with limited additional investment. As part of our research, we have identified the following list of caregiver-supportive best practices that companies can initiate, maintain or expand.

• Offer and support flexible schedules and flexible work locations (hybrid/remote).

• Pressure-test benefits to ensure all employees can afford to use their available benefits from a cash flow perspective. Employees often cannot afford to use benefits such as front-loading dependent and healthcare reimbursement accounts, educational stipends that require employees to front the funds and apply for reimbursement, and partially paid leave.

• Host sessions to highlight how caregiving employees can optimize employer benefits and policies, as a way to address any lack of awareness about using benefits.

• Ask senior leaders to share their stories of how they have used the caregiver-supportive benefits and policies, signaling to both people managers and their teams that they are encouraged to use them.

• Train people managers on caregiver-inclusive managerial practices. Ensure managers are aware of caregiver-supportive benefits and policies and message to their direct reports that it is safe to use them all without incurring career risk.

• Start or support an Employee Resource Group for parents and caregivers or create a caregiving initiative across all ERGs.

• Offer company-supported access to support groups, career coaching and financial advising resources to empower employees to design a clear path through the caregiving phase of their career.

• Offer paid leave specifically for caregivers and/or flexible leave that can be used to help with caregiving duties. Even if the benefit starts small, the inclusion of family caregivers in leave policies is a powerful signal that the organization supports all caregivers equally, regardless of whether they are caring for a child or an adult.

• Keep in mind best practices to drive utilization: 1. Ensure leave policies do not have gender-based or primary/secondary caregiver terms,
  and 2. Offer paid leave for a duration when full wage replacement
  can be provided, rather than a longer term with only partial wage replacement.