Workplaces

More than 23 million family caregivers work in addition to providing unpaid care to a family member or friend with a chronic, serious, or disabling health condition. In the absence of a comprehensive, national, paid leave policy, Americans rely on employers to provide social safety nets to help them manage their working and caregiving responsibilities. Still, there is a mismatch between what benefits employers offer and what employees need and are willing to use. Workers and employers suffer from workplace cultures unprepared to support their 1 in 6 caregiver employees.

NAC advocates for workplace policies and practices such as flextime and compressed workweeks that help employers retain their caregiver employees and allow them to thrive both at home and work. NAC advocates as well for public policy strategies, such as redefined paid leave criteria, to reinforce workplace solutions.

For more about federal caregiving legislation, visit NAC’s National Engagement page.

Lessons From the Workplace: Caregiving During COVID-19

In this article, guest author Peg Rosen investigates workplace experiences during COVID-19 and explores the mismatch between what family caregivers say they need and what employers are providing. Lessons From the Workplace: Caregiving During COVID-19 details the challenges faced by working caregivers and recommends solutions, like job flexibilities, that help caregivers manage and employers retain talent.