Employers adapting benefits to support caregivers

Employers are adapting their benefits offerings to support caregivers in the workforce, and caregivers are taking them up, according to a recent survey.

New research on the landscape of caregiving benefits from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research was reviewed during EBRI’s Caregiving at Work Forum.

The most common wellness benefits offered by employers are flexible work arrangements (51%), employee assistance programs (49%) and long-term leave policies (45%). Employers with more than 500 workers were more likely than smaller employers to offer these benefits.

But fewer caregiving employees say they are aware of these benefits, the survey showed. For example, of the employers that offer paid family caregiver leave, only 20% of caregivers said they were aware of that leave, compared with 25% of non-caregivers.

The survey found that caregiver employees reported benefit take-up rates similar to non-caregiver employees. For example, 29% of caregivers and 27% of non-caregivers said they took advantage of long-term leave policies.

But there were some differences in these take-up rates. Forty percent of non-caregivers said they used employee resource groups, compared with 35% of caregivers. Thirty percent of caregivers used their company’s unpaid family leave, compared with 25% of non-caregivers.

Caregivers are less likely to have high benefit satisfaction. The survey found 83% of caregivers said they were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their benefits, compared with 89% of non-caregivers who reported the same. Caregivers also were less likely to rate their employer’s well-being efforts highly.

Employers said they plan to expand their caregiving supports. The survey found 42% plan to offer caregiving education, 38% plan to offer backup or emergency care, 35% plan to offer paid caregiving leave and 33% plan to offer flexible work arrangements.

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Susan Rupe is editor in chief, magazine, for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at susan.rupe@innfeedback.com.