Building Caregiver Support at Work: 7 Essential Takeaways for Employers

Caregiving responsibilities affect employees at nearly every workplace, making it essential for HR leaders to understand the challenges and foster a supportive, inclusive, and productive environment.  

A panel of speakers — consisting of Tina Beaty, SHRM’s chief brand and marketing officer; Paula Faris, an Emmy-Award-winning journalist and founder of CARRY Media; Phyllis Stewart Pires, associate vice president of employee support programs and services at Stanford University; and Madeline Mitchell, a national news reporter who covers caregiving for USA Today — discussed the immense pressure on working caregivers and clear reasons for employers to respond at SHRM25 in San Diego. Here are seven key takeaways. 

1. Women are disproportionately affected, but a shift is underway.

Although women — particularly women of color — make up the majority of caregivers, “there is a cultural shift” occurring, Beaty said, as more men take on caregiving roles.

“At work and in the media, we can continue to change the vernacular so that the caregiving balance continues to shift,” she said.  

2. Caregiving challenges cost people, businesses, and the economy billions annually.

The data isn’t gendered, Beaty noted, and the burden that caregivers feel has a clear impact on a business’s bottom line — to the tune of $17.5 million in lost wages per month, according to SHRM’s 2025 research report, Care and Careers: Navigating Caregiving and Work Responsibilities.

“That’s $210 billion — with a B — for the year,” Beaty said. “It’s an impact on that family. It’s an impact on the organization. It’s an impact on the economy.”  

3. Supporting caregivers with tangible resources and peer networks strengthens leadership pipelines. 

Career advancement often stalls for working caregivers at pivotal transitions from individual contributor to a leadership role, Stewart Pires said. “Those are very leaky pipelines — leaky to the point of being a sieve,” she added.

Caregivers who feel like their situation is fragile often turn down advancement opportunities because they don't want to interrupt that fragility. This hesitation is compounded by a lack of visible role models who have been “caregiving out loud,” she added, leaving them unable to envision themselves succeeding in those positions.

Research: Organizational Solutions for Supporting Caregivers

4. Managers are the first responders in supporting caregivers. 

Leadership sets the tone for a culture of openness by addressing caregiving challenges authentically and empathetically, and it’s HR’s role to train them how to have those conversations.  

“It’s not [a manager’s] responsibility to be able to fix a particular issue,” Stewart Pires said. “But it is their responsibility to create an active listening environment and engage in a partnership with that employee.”

This approach builds a foundation of trust, making employees more likely to use available benefits and support systems. “When you talk about caregiving and the emotional weight that comes with that ... having that empathy in the workplace is imperative,” Mitchell said.

5. It’s crucial to challenge unconscious biases to ensure fair opportunities for caregivers.

HR professionals must stay vigilant in identifying coded language that subtly questions an employee’s work performance or potential for promotion due to caregiving responsibilities.

“It’s the same work we need to be doing around our inclusive cultures,” Stewart Pires pointed out.

When phrases like “I’m not sure they’re ready” surface, it’s crucial to pause and unpack the underlying message to ensure that bias isn’t influencing decisions.

6. Clear expectations prevent confusion and foster better work/life integration. 

Setting clear expectations between employers and working caregivers from the outset is essential to avoid misunderstandings down the line. SHRM emphasizes the concept of work/life integration over work/life balance with its own employees, Beaty said, recognizing the inherent overlap between professional and personal responsibilities.  

However, “If there isn’t that initial level-setting conversation with employer and employee, then we have a lack of alignment,” she added. For example, an employee might think flexibility means they can leave the office at 2 p.m. to pick up their children, but the employer doesn’t share that same definition of the word. 

Related Article: How FMLA Fails Today's Caregivers

7. Small efforts add up to a big impact on employees. 

While Stanford offers six child care centers that serve more than 900 children a day on its campus, along with providing income-based grants to help make care more affordable, Stewart Pires acknowledged that solution isn’t feasible for all employers. However, smaller, low-cost or free initiatives can be just as impactful for employees. 

• Stanford offers a program, “Back After Bonding When Baby Leaves End,” or BABBLE, that brings together employees who have recently returned from adopting, birthing, or otherwise bringing a child into their homes. Facilitators provide information on how to talk to managers about potentially awkward topics — for example, using lactation rooms — as well as build a peer cohort among those in similar circumstances. 

• Mitchell shared a story about a company that used to spend money on happy hours or team lunches. The owner moved to giving DoorDash gift cards instead, hoping it would help make an employee’s day easier by not having to make dinner or pack lunch. “There are little tasks throughout the day that add up to hours and hours of work,” she said. “That’s where the biggest impact can be.”

• Standford also offers an “Aging Wisely” program with lunchtime sessions that answer questions such as what type of paperwork needs to be considered at certain stages of life or how to approach difficult conversations with parents about, say, the safety of continuing to drive at a certain age. 

The solution to caregiving challenges isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, Beaty said. However, when employers do their best to support overburdened working caregivers, the results speak for themselves.

“So many companies are losing good employees,” Faris said. “But I don’t think there’s a more loyal employee than a caregiver when they feel supported.”