Plug Up Your Attrition Leak by Caring for Caregivers

Last year, 49 million people left their jobs—a record high. The demands of family caregiving is one significant reason that many people voluntarily resign. In fact, one out of every three family caregivers has given up a job to care for children, elderly parents, or both. And when you consider that one-third of all employees are also family caregivers, turnover due to caregiving responsibilities is a significant risk for any organization.

Caregiver attrition impacts all types of employees—not just who you might think.  A recent Harvard Business School study on caregiver attrition noted several unexpected trends: 77% of younger workers (under age 35) have left a job due to caregiving responsibilities. Those with titles of Vice President or higher were among the most likely to leave in virtually any age group.

Employee turnover is expensive. The cost of replacing employees is equivalent to one-third of their annual salary, taking into account temporary coverage, recruiting, onboarding and training expenses as well as costs associated with lower productivity and potential mistakes that new hires may make. Less quantifiable but still significant consequences include losses associated with institutional knowledge, engagement, morale, and culture.

To calculate the full financial impact of unsupported caregivers on your organization, check out our Caregiver Calculator.

Attrition due to caregiving challenges can be solved.

Unlike other reasons workers attrite—such as career advancement, retirement or termination—there are steps employers can take to support family caregivers and reduce this type of attrition.

One key way to reduce worker attrition related to family caregiving, according to a Rosalyn Carter Institute study on the Caregiver Crisis, is to identify the right caregiver solutions for your organization. The report recommends taking inventory of your existing policies and services, aligning them with known caregiver issues, and involving caregivers in defining what’s needed.

This last recommendation is particularly significant because additional research by RCI uncovered that the benefits family caregivers used most or said they would have used if available are not being offered by most employers. These include flexible or reduced schedules, remote or telework, job sharing/reduced workload, and specialized caregiver services, like caregiver support platforms.

While addressing where, how and when work gets done are all important considerations, wellbeing solutions like Torchlight, a LifeSpeak company, provide employees with an almost-immediate caregiver lifeline. Our affordable and proven solution features the only comprehensive platform of its kind—one that couples the very best caregiver expertise with one-on-one advising and concierge services.

An added advantage of a caregiver benefit like Torchlight is it can also be leveraged as a recruitment tool to attract the very best talent, many of whom are or will become caregivers. According to a recent survey of HR leaders, 63% believe that increasing child and senior care benefits will help them attract and retain employees.

Given the current employment climate, attrition is an inevitable challenge for most organizations. However, one way to lessen its impact is to provide more support to caregiver employees. And platforms like Torchlight can play a key role in any forward-thinking employer’s retention strategy.

To find out how Torchlight can plug up your attrition leak, get in touch today to learn more or schedule a demo.