Working Caregivers-The Invisible Employees Newsletter

Brought to you by ieadvocates (invisible employee advocates)

Thank you for being here!

Everyday in this country, millions of Americans care for chronically ill spouses, partners, aging parents and other loved ones – all without getting paid for the invaluable services they perform. These invisible family caregivers form the backbone of our healthcare system, personally taking on the professional, emotional and financial consequences involved. These consequences run deep and wide including missed workdays, emotional strain, compromised health and lost income. 

In this edition, we take a look at the “true” cost of unpaid care professionally, personally and economically. Whether you are a caregiver, an employer or an advocate, understanding the true costs of unpaid care is a major step towards meaningful change. Contrary to popular belief, unpaid caregiving is not free. It’s paid for with personal sacrifice, long-term, often unrecoupable financial losses, and career trade-offs. 

As our population ages and our caregiving needs continue to grow, the question is not whether we can afford to support family caregivers. It’s whether we can afford not to. We can start by recognizing and appreciating their contributions, raising awareness around the sacrifices they make to provide care, and advocating for workplace solutions that reflect the intrinsic value of the services they provide.  

Table of Contents

• Working Caregivers-The Invisible Employees Newslet …

  • In the news:

  • People and Companies In the spotlight:

  • Stories From Real Working Caregivers:

  • Recommended media content:

  • With gratitude, we share a book review:

    • Order Our Book Here

In the news:

“Caregiving is no longer a personal issue. It's a national crisis.”

Jessica Hall sounds the alarm for a caregiver crisis that has been on the horizon for quite some time. She shares an important statistic employers and governments need to pay attention to:

 In particular, she shares, employers are losing employees, experiencing higher absenteeism, and increasing healthcare costs. Read the article here.  

 Glen Llopis shares stark realities in this aricle. In this article, Llopis talks about the crisis being both a challenge and an opportunity, especially for employers. Read the article here.

Did you know? (Read our blog):

The True Cost of Unpaid Family Caregiving(Blog 7/15/25)

These prices have to be a mistake! I can’t afford these eggs! Recently, exclamations like this could be heard in the diary sections of grocery stores across the nation. In March 2025, the national price for a carton of eggs reached an all-time high of $8.15 per dozen. Some states reported prices as high as almost $10.00 per dozen. Store owners cited bird flu outbreaks that reduced the hen population, inflation resulting in higher costs for feed and labor, and state regulations mandating cage-free eggs as reasons for the inflated egg prices.

Read blog here

People and Companies In the spotlight:

Episode 21: Caring Out Loud: Rosanne Corcoran on Dementia, Daughterhood & Making Caregivers Visible

We sit down with the incredible Rosanne Corcoran—a powerhouse advocate, seasoned dementia caregiver, and host of the Daughterhood the Podcast. Rosanne opens up about her 12-year journey caring for her mom through vascular dementia and how it shaped not only her life but her mission to build a community of support for caregivers everywhere. We dive deep into the challenges working caregivers face and how employers and policymakers can—and should—step up to support them. Rosanne also gives us a peek behind the curtain of Daughterhood, the warm, empowering platform she now leads. We talk about the emotional realities of caregiving, the importance of boundaries, and the life-changing resources that are finally becoming available—like Medicare’s GUIDE program. 

Rosanne Corcoran is the creator and host of "Daughterhood the Podcast: For Caregivers." In addition to her role as a Daughterhood Circle Leader, she serves as Director of Content guiding the organization’s content strategy and ensuring alignment with its mission. Rosanne has extensive experience in caregiving, having been the primary caregiver for her mother, who had vascular dementia, over the course of twelve years and supporting hundreds of family caregivers while facilitating Daughterhood circles. "Daughterhood the Podcast" consistently ranks among the top 10 caregiver podcasts. Rosanne has been featured in prominent media outlets such as CNN Health, Barron's, Next Avenue, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Recently, she was named one of the 2024 Advocates for Aging by Next Avenue and the American Society on Aging.

Stories From Real Working Caregivers:

Meet Carol Bradley Bursack, a real working caregiver:

Carol Bradley Bursack is an author, columnist, and consultant. She spent over two decades caring for a neighbor and six elderly family members. As a result of this experience, she wrote Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories, a portable support group for caregivers. Her dedication to other caregivers eventually led her to become a certified dementia support group facilitator. Carol’s websites, Minding Our Elders and Minding Our Elders blog, include links to helpful agencies, articles rich with information and comfort, and resources for caregiver, boomer, and elder needs. She also has a long-running newspaper column, also called “Minding Our Elders,” available weekly in multiple newspapers online and in print.

Read the entire interview here

Recommended media content:

PODCASTS

Rosanne Corcoran, the host of ‘Daughterhood the Podcast’ reflects on long-term care in the U.S., the role of family caregivers, and implications for their health and wealth on The Long View Podcast by Morningstar.
 

VIDEOS

Your Company Needs an Eldercare Policy. Harvard Business Review.  For the first time in U.S. history, more employees are caring for aging loved ones than for preschoolers. It’s a wake-up call: employers need to offer eldercare policies.

 BOOKS

Minding our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories by Carol Bradley Bursack is a portable support group, a reminder you aren't alone. Each story about caring for the elderly is self-contained. Minding Our Elders is an intimate and powerful resource for caregivers, filled with true stories about caregivers and aging parents. Read a free chapter here.

With gratitude, we share a book review:

We want to thank Gerri L. Harvey who took the time to read our book and provide a thoughtful ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐review!

“Sometimes we want to suffer in silence thinking no one cares or understands, what caregivers go through. This book brings to light that we need to ask and let employers know we need help so we don’t have to suffer in silence. This book brings enlightenment and I could empathize with Carri!”

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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