Caregivers Are an Asset to the Workforce. Here’s How Employers Can Support Them.

Bruce Willis’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, has been open about her role as a family caregiver. After his diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia, she made the difficult decision to move him into a separate home on their property so she could care for him while maintaining stability for their children. It was a choice shaped by love, but also by resources that many families do not have.

Taylor Swift made a similar decision when she stepped away from work to care for her father after heart surgery. Caregiving often comes with sacrifices, and most employees cannot afford to make the same choices.

The Caregiving Reality in Your Workforce

One in four American adults is caring for a loved one. That means every workplace already has caregivers on the team, even if they do not identify themselves that way. These employees manage complex responsibilities at home while still contributing at work.

Caregivers are not only doing “extra” work outside of the office. They also bring valuable qualities into the workplace. They are resilient. They know how to manage time, juggle priorities, and solve problems under pressure. They practice empathy every day, and they understand how to navigate financial and emotional challenges. These are skills every employer should want on their team.

FMLA Can Support Caregiving

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is often thought of as maternity leave or time off after surgery. In reality, it covers much more. Employees may qualify for leave if they need to:

• Care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
• Take family members to medical appointments or treatments
• Manage caregiving needs a few hours or days at a time, known as intermittent leave
• Handle urgent needs during a family member’s military deployment
• Care for a service member who is seriously ill or injured

Too many employees are unaware of these protections, and employers often fail to make them clear.

How Employers Can Help

Supporting caregivers is both compassionate and practical. Here are steps workplaces can take:

• Use the word “caregiver” in policies and internal communications so employees recognize themselves
• Offer flexible schedules and remote options when possible
• Provide paid leave or combine PTO banks to reduce financial strain
• Invest in employee assistance programs, care navigation services, and peer support groups
• Encourage leaders to share their own caregiving experiences to normalize the conversation
• Create cross-training and backup plans so teams do not suffer when an employee needs time away
• Offer financial wellness programs or emergency stipends to ease the costs of care

How Aidaly Can Help

At Aidaly, we help caregivers in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Colorado get paid for the work they are already doing. This income does not interfere with their day job and can help reduce the financial stress that often forces caregivers out of the workforce. Employees can check their eligibility in just a few minutes.

The Bottom Line

Family caregivers provide more than 36 billion hours of unpaid care every year, worth over $600 billion to the U.S. economy. They are not a liability. They are an asset that strengthens workplaces as much as households.

Employers who support caregivers gain loyalty, productivity, and long-term retention. When workplaces make resources visible and treat caregiving as real work, everyone benefits.

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