The Overlooked Super Powers of Working Caregivers

Caregiving is not a business burden, but a powerful resource for professional excellence

Author

ieadvocates
July 29, 2025

Working Caregivers-The Invisible Employees Newsletter

Brought to you by ieadvocates (invisible employee advocates)

Thank you for being here!

In today’s competitive workplace, recognizing the value of working caregivers is smart business. Employers who acknowledge and nurture the strengths caregivers contribute to their teams and to the company, will promote and benefit from a more empathic, inclusive, and high-performing workplace. While balancing careers, caring for spouses, aging parents, or other loved ones, working caregivers bring often underestimated and overlooked talent to the table. These include the very skill sets most businesses need to thrive during these challenging times such as: crisis management, time prioritization, resilience under pressure and emotional intelligence. 

Unfortunately, these valuable skills honed through caregiving experiences, are most often not found on resumes or included in LinkedIn profiles due to fear of negative perceptions and consequences. It’s time to shift the perspective of caregiving from a devalued experience to an invaluable opportunity to strengthen adaptability, problem-solving and leadership capabilities.

We can shift the narrative: caregiving doesn’t detour careers – it accelerates leaders!

Table of Contents

In the news:

Latest research, events, and articles that are making an impact for working caregivers and their employers.

National Alliance for Caregiving: Caregiving in the US 2025 Report

The most critical and up-to-date report on the status of the caregiver crisis in the United States is here. National Alliance For Caregiving (NAC) and AARP has teamed up once again since their previous report in 2020 to provide the latest picture on the economic and healthcare realities of America’s growing community of family caregivers.

Here are a few very important insights the report shares:

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Nearly 1 in 4 Americans is a family caregiver—a staggering 45% increase from 2015

Half of all working caregivers experience impacts on their employment

Caregivers spend an average of 27 hours per week providing care, and 24% provide 40 or more hours a week

Employers can help keep caregivers in the workforce, experts say

Experts from Bank of America, the Milken Institute, and Hanover Insurance recently shared at SHRM 2025 in San Diego the negative impact caregiving can have on caregivers and how HR leaders can better support caregivers in the workplace.

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…caregivers also experience adverse mental impacts, affecting how they show up at work. “They might reduce the hours they work; they might forgo promotions. They might leave the workforce altogether...there’s a $33 billion dollar annual impact of caregiving related absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover.” ~Lauren Dunning, director of the center for the future of aging at the Milken Institute

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.

Do You Have Your Caregiver Skills Listed in Your LinkedIn Profile? (Blog 7/29/25)

Many people consider caring for a loved one a personal responsibility. However, it is more than that. We could say it’s a masterclass in crisis management, performance efficiency, leadership, empathy, and a host of other valuable skills. Indeed, the success of a family caregiver often requires the ability to recognize and respond to a health crisis on a moment’s notice. To organize and manage a variety of healthcare components, including medications, dietary requirements, and activities of daily life. To interface with physicians and medical support staff, ensuring that the patient’s health condition is consistently monitored, and issues are promptly addressed. Some of the same skills that caregivers must use at home to care for their loved ones, help them perform their job duties at work.

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 22: Care with Dignity: Fighting for Change with Filmmaker Susie Singer Carter

We sit down with our brilliant friend and caregiving champion, Susie Singer Carter. Susie doesn’t just tell stories—she lives them with heart, humor, and relentless honesty. We talk about the raw truths of caregiving, especially for those dealing with Alzheimer’s and long-term care systems. Susie shares how caring for her mother, Norma, transformed her life and ignited her mission to advocate for others through storytelling.

We also dive into her new docu-series No Country for Old People, a bold exposé on the failures in nursing home care and the urgent need for reform. Susie also discusses the impact of her Oscar-qualified short film My Mom and the Girl and how it’s educating employers and caregivers alike. It is coming out on August 1st on Amazon Prime. You can also be a part of the advocacy efforts—learn all about R.O.A.R. (Respect Oversight Advocacy Reform) here.

Susie is an award-winning writer, director, producer, and Alzheimer’s advocate. Her credits include Bratz: The Movie, Soul Surfer, the acclaimed podcasts Love Conquers Alz and I Love Lucifer, and her upcoming screenplay RUN. Inspired by personal tragedy, No Country for Old People received the 2024 Gold Anthem Award and is sparking a national movement for care reform. Susie is also the proud host of WGAW’s 3rd & Fairfax Podcast.

Stories From Real Working Caregivers:

Actual working caregivers share their stories.

Meet Natalie Elliott Handy, a real working caregiver

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“ Sometimes I just need to say the things that don't feel socially appropriate. I need to say I'm having a really hard time, and I'm mad or I'm angry because I can't do this, or I'm not doing this right. And mostly, my anger and guilt and fear that I experienced as a caregiver were related to my feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy because I don't make any qualms about it.”

Natalie Elliott Handy, MSW, is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience in health and human services. She is the CEO of CareForward, a technology-driven platform that connects individuals in crisis with volunteers and partner organizations to meet urgent, short-term needs and improve long-term outcomes. Natalie co-hosts the global podcast Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver with her sister, JJ Elliott-Hill. The show, ranked in the top 5% of podcasts globally and streamed in over 54 countries with 300K+ monthly downloads, brings authenticity, humor, and hope to caregiving conversations. Through storytelling, education, and advocacy, the podcast provides a supportive space for caregivers worldwide.

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“I calculated, while we were gone, that I had done during the week 42 different roles. f you talk about all the roles that caregivers do, I had calculated 42 while Jason was getting his hydration. I call it a spa day when he was getting hydration from chemo. And on the list, you would not find wife. And it took close to nine months after coming home for us to feel, I don't want to say intimate from a sexual nature, but intimate. I had been telling Jason what to do like he was an employee for months. To shift that and bring us back to an equal positioning so that we're husband and wife, that took a lot of time to relearn..”

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

The Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver podcast offers a candid, unfiltered space to confess the good, the bad, and the ugly of being a caregiver through storytelling, guest interviews, and information sharing. JJ & Natalie are a dynamic duo of sisters supporting their mom living with Parkinson's and a husband who survived cancer.
 

VIDEOS

Susie Singer Carter, the director and writer of acclaimed documentary "No Country For Old People," joins Amy Johnson to discuss the film which tells the harrowing story of ongoing neglect in nursing facilities after the horrors she witnessed first hand during the last months of her mother's life.

 BOOKS

Husband-and-wife psychologists Barry J. Jacobs and Julia L. Mayer--who have counseled family caregivers for over 30 years and cared for their own aging parents for a decade--have answers to tough caregiver questions. Written in a Q&A format, this easy-to-navigate guide is packed with information, problem-solving and coping ideas, resources, stories, and communication tips.

With gratitude, we share a book review:

We want to thank Clelia P. who took the time to read our book and provide a thoughtful ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐review!

“Being a caregiver myself, this book really spoke to me. The challenges we have as caregivers are really portrayed in this book. Employers need to be more in tune with what struggles we have. As an employer myself, I am both personally and professionally motivated to help others like me through reading this 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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