9 employee benefit programs that support caregivers

April 26, 2022 5:30 AM

The caregiving crisis in the U.S. has reached a fever pitch.

By 2020, more than one in five adults were serving as unpaid family caregivers, according to reports by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving. The stress of those responsibilities can feel crushing: 23% of Americans have said that caregiving diminished their health, 45% of today’s caregivers are feeling financial strain and 61% are juggling work in addition to personal responsibilities.

The weight of the pandemic, of course, has only increased the pressure, and caregivers are increasingly looking outside their family communities and turning to employers for help.

“Employers are dealing with a population that is finding it easier to resign and quit the workplace altogether,” says Jessica Tuman, VP, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Enterprise & Voya Cares Center of Excellence. “Productivity is lowered, absenteeism is increased. But there are so many ways employers can work with their employees to make sure they don’t quit. Because caregiving impacts all of us.”

From case management and medical referrals to backup child care and simple social interactions for aging loved ones, there’s no shortage of employer-provided benefits and innovative digital tools available to help ease the burden on the caregiving workforce. Here are nine to consider.

Family First

Family First aims to help caregivers — and their families — focus on the big picture.

When founder and CEO Evan Falchuk was beginning to provide care to his aging father, complicated family dynamics and complex clinical factors often created distractions that got in the way of building out a valuable care plan. Now, Family First’s tech-enabled platform and benefit doesn’t just provide access to clinicians and care experts, but also helps caregivers get a grasp on the many complicated pieces of their loved one’s case.

“When I didn’t think my father should be driving anymore, there were plenty of people telling me how to have that conversation with my dad, but not a lot of people talking about getting my siblings and mom on the same page,” he says. “No one was telling us what we needed to think about clinically, or if we needed to get a healthcare proxy if there was something going on cognitively, or all these other things that seem obvious in retrospect but we just didn’t think about at the time.”

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The company is also utilizing technology, AI and user surveys to understand just how much stress each caregiver is under, when they’re at risk of burnout — and how Family First can provide more support to improve the situation.

“So many caregivers don’t describe themselves as caregivers, they just think they’re a good spouse or parent or child,” Falchuk says. “Helping people see the reality of what they’re doing can really make an impact in terms of getting them to seek out help.”

Ianacare

With its smartphone app, Ianacare aims to deliver support through community. Born from CEO Jessica Kim’s own experience of raising children while caring for aging parents, Ianacare’s platform — which can be offered through employers — connects users to local resources and support programs, and also activates an individual’s social network. The caregiver can invite friends to join the app, and those interested in helping out can offer support through car rides, babysitting or even meal prep.

Cariloop

Cariloop works to help its members find the support they need for their loved ones, no matter the stage of life. The company and case management platform connects its users with licensed and certified “Care Coaches,” each of whom has a specialized area of expertise, ranging from Medicare and dementia care to social work. Aside from lending advice, those coaches can help easy logistical burdens, even booking appointments on behalf of the caregivers they support.

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Papa

For aging loved ones, Papa provides companionship and social support through Papa Pals, also known as “family on demand.” Members can make connections with Papa Pals through the company’s app (which can be provided as an employee benefit). In addition to creating a sense of community, Papa Pals provide assistance with everyday tasks and activities, providing support and peace of mind to caregivers and their elderly family members alike.

Wellthy

Wellthy — which is available to consumers and is also offered as an employee benefit — matches caregivers with a care professional that best suits their specific needs. The platform can connect families with additional care resources, providers and even find appropriate social programs and organizations to support loved ones.

For employees struggling to balance personal responsibilities, that kind of support from an employer-provided benefit can create a sense of security — and company loyalty.

“When we work with families, a third of survey respondents tell us that Wellthy helped them not need to resign because of the caregiving support they received,” CEO Lindsay Jurist Rosner recently told EBN. “For companies, that means you don’t have to spend money to recruit new talent, you don’t have to spend money to onboard, you don’t lose that institutional knowledge. That’s a very high ROI.”

Villyge

The employer-paid benefit and platform provides users with a network of support and resources, and also helps employees and their managers better communicate through various life events and demands — such as IVF treatment, new parenthood or caring for an aging family member. By boosting communication, Villyge aims to create a supportive workplace environment.

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“Remote work has given everyone a glimpse into employees’ daily lives and life events — the child care and eldercare challenges, unexpected sick days, and other shifts impacting people’s ability to show up professionally,” says Debi Yadegari, founder and CEO at Villyge. “While it’s a seismic shift from the way we’ve always done business, we believe this added access and clarity is a good thing — if organizations and leaders know how to use it.”

HomeThrive

HomeThrive’s caregiving support platform connects users with designated caseworkers and vital resources for aging loved ones or family members with special needs. HomeThrive’s digital tool, Dari by Homethrive, offers 24/7 access to personalized digital coaching and resources, and can also connect users with one-on-one support if their concern needs more focused attention.

Voya Cares

Voya Cares originally launched with the goal of advocating for financial planning for people with disabilities, and simultaneously started spotlighting some of the caregiving challenges faced by the parents or siblings providing support for those individuals. Today, Voya Cares has grown into a one-stop-shop, resource hub and referral network that can direct individuals, employers and financial planners to the programs, benefits and information they need to best support their teams, loved ones or clients, from connecting with special needs attorneys to finding elder care support.

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“Caregiving truly is a crisis, and the pandemic has really highlighted that,” Voya’s Tuman says. “So we’re working to elevate and amplify these issues, and employee benefits can be a really rich source of support for caregivers.”