Companies that include caregiver support in their employee benefits packages

Employee benefits are a major piece of any job offer you’ll ever consider, and with good reason. From health insurance to paid time off, the compensation is money in your pocket.

Naturally, depending on where you are in your life, certain benefits will be more important to you. For instance, if you’re planning on starting (or growing) your family, parental leave benefits will be a major draw.

But if you're part of the sandwich generation—adults in their 40s and 50s who have a parent age 65+ and are raising a young child or supporting a grown child—there’s one employee benefit that is likely incredibly important to you. That benefit is caregiver support.

What is a family caregiver?

A family caregiver is someone who provides assistance to an aging family member or friend, or to a family or friend struggling with a physical or mental disability, but doesn’t get paid for their services.

If you’re not a caregiver now, you likely will be. A report by the Home Care Association of America and the Global Coalition on Aging states that there will be 84 million people ages 65+ by 2050; approximately 70% of those adults will be unable to care for themselves and require assistance at some point.

For some, caregiving is akin to a second job. Caring.com surveyed 2,767 family caregivers of older adults as part of the 2017 Family Caregiver Journey report, and found 38% of respondents spend more than 30 hours per week on caregiving. Nearly seven in 10 (68%) report that their caregiving duties have had a negative impact on their job—more than half (55%) of respondents have missed one or more weeks of work, while 31% often arrived late or had to leave early.

Aside from the emotional toll of caregiving, there’s a monetary cost too—more than four in 10 family caregivers (44%) spend $5,000 or more per year on caregiving expenses.

The good news is that companies are paying attention. According to the report, Supporting Working Caregivers: Case Studies of Promising Practices, an increasing number of companies offer paid and/or unpaid leave for caregiving beyond what’s required by the Family Medical Leave Act. (Additional benefits may include flexible work arrangements, information resources and referrals, and emergency backup care.) The report was written by Respect a Caregiver’s Time (ReACT), an employer-focused coalition that seeks to address the challenges faced by employee caregivers and reduce the impact on their employers.

If you’re in the market for a new job and you are (or will be) caring for someone, this benefit should be at the top of your list. The following list of companies that offer caregiving benefits to employees are members of ReACT and have jobs on Monster.

Companies with caregiver support benefits

AARP
AbbVie, Inc.
Allianz Life
Aetna
Alzheimer's Association
Astellas
Bank of America
Bristol Myers Squibb
Care.com
Caring.com
CBS
Cleveland Clinic
Deloitte
Duke University
Emory University
Fannie Mae
Gallup
Georgetown University
Gunderson Health System
HealthWays, Inc.
Home Instead Senior Care
Intel
Johns Hopkins University
Johnson & Johnson
Kimberly Clark
Eli Lilly and Company
Mather Lifeways
Microsoft
MIT Agelab
National Academy of Sciences
NBC Universal
Otsuka
Palo Alto Medical Foundation
Philips
Pfizer
Transamerica
University of Arizona
University of Pittsburg Medical Center (UPMC)
Westrock Company (formerly MeadWestvaco)