As we move into 2024, it’s natural to reflect on the state of employee benefits in 2023 and pause to ask what trends may impact the industry in the coming year.
One thing is clear: Caregiving benefits will remain a top-requested benefit among employees across the nation.
Caregiver Support Benefits Are No Longer a ‘Nice-to-Have’
In fact, the addition of caregiving benefits—including child care, elder care or anything in between—has increased by 177% in the past three years, according to Goldman Sachs Ayco’s “2023 Benefits and Compensation Trends in Corporate America Report”.
What’s more, the report notes that over half of their clients—a whopping 55%—currently help their employees find reliable caregivers or subsidize the cost of care. The report specifies that “finding reliable, trustworthy care and/or access to subsidized backup or emergency care” is no longer considered a ‘nice-to-have benefit.’”
For the 55% of Goldman clients that have incorporated caregiving benefits, they specified that their workforces requested caregiving benefits that included support finding and vetting sitters, nannies, tutors, elder care resources and college coaching.
The Cost of Not Providing Caregiver Support
In late November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, released a new report that focused on elder care as part of National Family Caregivers Month.
When researching who is providing elder care, BLS reported that there are currently 37.1 million elder care providers in the U.S. alone–the majority of those caregivers (59% of whom are women). Of those 37.1 million, 61% of elder care caregivers are employed.
Additionally, 15% of elder care caregivers have been providing care for over 10 years or more. Of these caregivers, one-third (34%) provide elder care on an average day.
As noted in previous posts, there are real costs to employers who do not offer caregiving benefits as part of their benefits packages. The estimated revenue lost each year due to decreased productivity and employee turnover sits at an incredible $44 billion in the U.S.
According to a recent study, nearly 1 in 4 companies with employed family caregivers reported either absenteeism or presenteeism over a one-month period due to caregiving. Among that number, caregiving reduced work productivity by one-third on average—an estimated $5,600 per employee—primarily because of reduced performance while present at work.
How to Access a Reliable, Trusted Network of Caregivers
Employers in 2024 and beyond must meet caregiving employees where they are along their caregiving journeys. Not only are there demonstrable benefits, but also employee retention, loyalty and benefits utilization will improve.
Cariloop’s comprehensive end-to-end Caregiver Support Platform® provides employees with access to licensed Care Coaches and a robust network of paid care providers through a premier integrated network and an employer-sponsored caregiver subsidy program.
To learn more about Cariloop’s end-to-end Caregiver Support Platform® can help you or your employees, review our Solutions and contact us today. Plus, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn for trending industry news and updates.
