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Supporting Working Caregivers: Employers Getting It Right
Employers Changing the Dialogue Around Working Caregiver Support
ieadvocates
March 31, 2026
Working Caregivers-The Invisible Employees Newsletter
Brought to you by ieAdvocates (invisible employee advocates)
We apologize for the delay in this edition of our newsletter. We are not only advocates for caregivers, but we are caregivers. This past week, our caregiver roles left us very little spare time to work. We did not stress over it. Life happens. We also know you would understand. We appreciate your patience and understanding!
With gratitude, Selma & Zack
Thank you for being here!
Family caregivers don’t go off-duty when their 9 to 5 job begins. For millions of employees, their ability to remain productive at work depends on whether their employer understands this overlap of responsibilities that follow them into the workplace each day. While many employers talk about the need to support working caregivers, some are transforming their words into action by putting meaningful policies into practice.
In this newsletter issue, we highlight some employers that are getting it right. These organizations recognize that caregiving has evolved as a fixture in the workplace, and they are responding in thoughtful and practical ways like paid caregiver leave, backup care, and creating cultures that are more embracing and empathic.
When employers invest in caregivers, they build workplaces that help promote success of their employees and the organization as well.
Table of Contents
In the news:
Latest research, events, and articles that are making an impact for working caregivers and their employers.
Inside Bank of America's strategy to support its employees' caregiving journeys
Bank of America’s strategy demonstrates that a true "culture of care" requires a comprehensive "family arc" benefits model. By addressing the "sandwich generation" (those caring for both children and aging parents), BofA is mitigating productivity loss and setting a new standard for employee retention in 2026.
“Employers must support employees' diverse caregiving journeys to retain talent. “
Companies Are Reviewing Their Paid Leave Policies. What Employees Should Know
The author reports that in a survey of 600 employers by the consulting firm WTW almost ¾ of companies plan to expand paid leave policies over the next two years. WTW’s group benefits leader, Alex Henry, shared that the percentage of employers who plan to offer time off for caregiving is expected to double from 22% to 39%.
🌟🌟 BONUS ARTICLE: 🌟 🌟
Best Places to Work for Working Daughters 2024
Here is the 2024 list of Best Places to Work for Working Daughters – companies that demonstrate a true culture of caring. Companies that made this list were evaluated on how their policies, benefits, and culture support working caregivers.
Did you know? (Read our blog):
Our blog brings you knowledge, personal and researched, to raise your awareness and empathy about working caregivers and caregiving.
Support for Working Caregivers Matters: Employers Doing It Right by Selma Archer
For working caregivers, employer support can mean the difference between staying engaged at work and stepping away altogether. While caregiving expands to affect millions of employees across industries, some employers have stepped up to implement meaningful, practical support programs that allow caregivers to be successful both at work and in their personal lives. These employers understand that when caregivers are supported, everyone benefits.
Here are some examples of organizations that are widely recognized for “doing it right” – joining thoughtful policies with a culture that recognizes caregiving as a normal part of work-life.
People and Companies In the spotlight:
Our podcast puts a spotlight on guests who are making a significant difference in the working caregiver space.
Episode 37: Why Caregivers Are Often Overlooked at Work with Karen Kavanaugh, Director of Working While Caring, Tufts Medical Center
In this episode, we sit down with Karen Kavanaugh to unpack the real challenges facing working caregivers—and why so many of them still feel invisible. From systemic breakdowns to cultural blind spots, we explore what’s really happening behind the scenes for employees balancing work and caregiving, and why employers can’t afford to ignore it any longer.
We also dive into what’s actually working. Karen shares powerful insights from her work with employers across the country, including innovative approaches to supporting caregivers in the workplace. Along the way, we reflect on our own caregiving journeys, what gives us hope, and the critical role community and leadership play in driving meaningful change.
Karen Kavanaugh leads the Working While Caring (WWC) initiative at Tufts Medical Center. Previously, she was Chief, Strategic Initiatives at the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers where she launched WWC and co-led the development of a new framework on the variation in caregiving, RCI and Duke University's profiles in caregiving experiences. She held several positions at The Pew Charitable Trusts leading initiatives focused on state policy reform including early childhood home visiting, safe pharmaceutical compounding, and household financial security. She worked for Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm advancing the state’s human services and transportation policies in DC, coming to that work following several years in community development in Detroit.
Actual Working Caregivers Share Their Stories
Meet Joanna Glum, a real working caregiver:
Joanna Glum
“I don't know if it feels familiar to other caregivers, but suddenly one day you wake up and realize you spent the day emptying bedside commodes and walking… watching black and white films… so I would say that my care journey was very much a suddenly, …all at once… and I'm so grateful for that. I want to very much stress that my care story is one of gratitude, in spite of the fact that it has been difficult. I consider myself the luckiest kid in the world that I was able to spend as much time as I [did] with the grandparents who raised me. So that's how my care journey began.”
Joanna Glum is a family caregiver from California who works as a writer, filmmaker, and educator. As an advocate, Joanna is currently tenured with California’s Disability and Aging Community Living Advisory Committee (DACLAC) and serves with California Coalition on Family Caregiving, which Joanna represented with Dr. Donna Benton at Caregiver Nation Summit 2025 in Washington D.C.
From short films that follow a pair of feet throughout their day of caregiving to essays about her grandmother, Joanna’s works have been featured from Palm Springs ShortsFest to Roxane Gay’s The Audacity and supported or recognized by Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, Vermont Studio Center, and American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition, amongst others. She has taught from The Adroit Journal to UC Berkeley original social justice documentary theatre pieces with some of
the finest artists (and students) in California.
Joanna writes of old age, social striation, failures in American care, and the myriad ways women bear the burden of reconciliation, and she believes that stories of care are everywhere should we choose to really look. Find more at www.joannaglum.com
What's one important piece of advice you would give Joanna at 21 years old?
“I'm going to be very sneaky, and it's going to be four things wrapped in one. Be honest. And for me, being honest is being assertive, is being intentional, and is also asking for help. To me… I know what my story is. I'm having a lot of dialogue from people who are telling me, no, you're doing it because of this, you're doing it because of this, X, Y, and Z, that's unfair to you, that's not right, da-da-da-da-da. …I knew what I wanted to do, and I was doing it really well. And it was only made complicated when I let those dialogues infect my thinking. So I would say, be assertive, and tell people, oh, I understand why you would say that, but no, here's the reality, and here's what I'm choosing, and I'm intentionally coming back into that. So being intentional and seeking help.”
Recommended media content:
We explore and share with you diverse media illuminating the dynamics and narratives within the care economy - from insightful podcasts to thought-provoking books and engaging videos.
PODCASTS
A Fresh Approach to Employee Benefits with Melanie Langsett. In this episode of the Transform Your Workplace podcast, Melanie Langsett from Deloitte discusses the company's innovative approach to employee well-being. Unlike traditional one-size-fits-all plans, Deloitte's benefits are tailored to meet individual needs. Tune in and learn how Deloitte gets creative when it comes to benefit offerings and leave programs, and get insight into how listening and supporting your people translates to productivity and retention.
BOOKS
Take Care: How to be a Great Employer for Working Carers by David Grayson is a practical guide that enables employers to better understand and support employees with caring responsibilities. It presents this as part of good management practice that strengthens organizational resilience and sustainability, and also argues that this is now an integral element of being a responsible employer and organisation. The book includes practical examples from more than fifty employers around the world, from small businesses to global enterprises, as well as public sector and NGO examples. It also features the personal stories of individuals in the workplace who have successfully championed change.
VIDEOS:
What's one important piece of advice you would give Joanna at 21 years old?
“I'm going to be very sneaky, and it's going to be four things wrapped in one. Be honest. And for me, being honest is being assertive, is being intentional, and is also asking for help. To me… I know what my story is. I'm having a lot of dialogue from people who are telling me, no, you're doing it because of this, you're doing it because of this, X, Y, and Z, that's unfair to you, that's not right, da-da-da-da-da. …I knew what I wanted to do, and I was doing it really well. And it was only made complicated when I let those dialogues infect my thinking. So I would say, be assertive, and tell people, oh, I understand why you would say that, but no, here's the reality, and here's what I'm choosing, and I'm intentionally coming back into that. So being intentional and seeking help.”
We want to thank Natalie Elliott who took the time to read our book and provide a thoughtful ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐review!
There are 53 million unpaid caregivers in the US and 60% of them are employed! I am one of them - a caregiver for my husband, a cancer survivor, and alongside my sisters, caregiver for my mother who has been living with Parkinson’s Disease for 20 years.
Last year, while my husband received treatment for a head and neck cancer, i continued to work. I knew I was privileged as I was an executive at a health care company and could work remotely from another state. I became acutely aware that others in my company could not be afforded the same flexibility due to position but also, our company did not offer Employee Resource Groups or caregiver benefits that could help relieve any of the additional burden caregivers experience.
Why? I honestly believe no member of the executive team had personally been a caregiver… or had never been impacted enough to warrant the discussion. It wasn’t a lack of care but lack of awareness. And we never heard “any mention of need” from our employees.
Again… why are we not talking about this? Caregiver issues are business issues and if employers don’t address this growing crisis head on with strategies and benefits to support their employees, they will see the impact on the bottom line.
I’m grateful to Zack and Selma for publishing this fantastic book. It offers employers a variety of options to offer their caregiver employees while educating employees types of benefits and supports to advocate from employers.
You won’t want to miss this must read book.
Order your copy of Working Caregivers-The Invisible Employees book here. If you want to order a quantity of books for your leadership team and employees, contact us directly about discount pricing.
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