When it comes to benefits at work, employees are looking for much more than two weeks of PTO.
![An Asian woman in a white button-down and glasses helping an elderly Asian man with white hair and glasses look at someone on a smartphone.](https://20627419.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/20627419/hubfs/The%20Hustle/Assets/Images/1490599034-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-caregiving_support_20231023214513.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1490599034-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-caregiving_support_20231023214513.webp)
And companies, anxious to retain talent, are increasingly trying to meet those demands with more robust offerings.
According to a 2023 Gallagher report, talent retention is the No. 1 priority for businesses — even before revenue.
While some benefits have become more common — child care, transportation, hybrid work — per Bloomberg, there’s one need that often goes unmet: caregiving.
- Over 50% of US workers have caregiving responsibilities outside of work, whether for aging parents or loved ones living with chronic illness or disabilities.
- An estimated 37m Americans spend an average of four hours a day looking after an elder.
The economic cost of caregiving in the US is estimated to range from $264B to as much as $600B.
This has major implications…
… as the population grows older.
Research suggests the nation’s caregiver shortage will only increase, and that the aging population will cost the US $290B annually by 2030.
But only 12% of companies offer some form of elder-care support, despite caregiving obligations being a primary driver for employee turnover.
To fill the void…
… new businesses are creating solutions.
Wellthy, an elder-care benefit startup, brings caregiving benefits to large employers like Best Buy and Meta:
- Companies pay $3-$6 per employee per month, on average, for access to Wellthy’s network of specialists (often social workers).
- The app helps workers navigate issues, from finding assisted-living facilities and home aides to choosing between rehab options — it also interviews vendors on behalf of employees.
Hilton’s HR chief told Bloomberg that the platform saved its 49k US employees 20k hours in less than a year. At Best Buy, 90k workers saved ~60k hours in two years.
This might be just the beginning…
… of a new workplace norm.
Already, employers looking to retain top talent are covering a wider range of benefits, from egg-freezing and IVF to talk therapy and maybe even psychedelics.