More than 1 in 5 American workers is simultaneously managing a job and caring for an aging or disabled family member. Most of them are doing it in silence.
The average caregiving employee costs their employer $5,600 per year in absenteeism, lost productivity, workday interruptions, and supervisory time. That number doesn't include the cost of replacing them when they leave.
For a 200-person company with a typical caregiving rate of 20%, that's 40 caregiving employees and more than $200,000 in annual hidden costs — costs that almost never show up in benefits reporting because most employees never tell HR they're caregiving.
The invisibility is the problem. Employees don't disclose caregiving because there's nothing the company can do about it — or at least that's the perception. They manage by taking personal days, dialing back performance, or quietly looking for a more flexible job.
When they do leave, the replacement cost is $17,000 to $33,000 per employee depending on role and seniority. And the institutional knowledge they take with them is irreplaceable.
| Employees | Est. Caregivers (20%) | Annual Loss |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 20 | $112,000 |
| 250 | 50 | $280,000 |
| 500 | 100 | $560,000 |
| 1,000 | 200 | $1,120,000 |
The typical working caregiver is a 49-year-old college-educated professional — someone in the middle of their career and their highest-earning years. They're your mid-level managers, your senior engineers, your team leads. Nearly 4 in 10 are men, despite the persistent assumption that caregiving is a women's issue. And nearly a quarter report that caregiving has made their own health worse — meaning the cost to your company extends beyond lost hours to increased healthcare utilization and burnout.
Source: NAC/AARP Caregiving in the U.S. 2020
Employers invest heavily in physical health, mental health, and financial wellness — but eldercare support remains a glaring gap. Most organizations assume their EAP covers it. It doesn't. Here's what the data actually shows:
Caregiving feels personal, complicated, and embarrassing. Employees worry about being seen as distracted or uncommitted. They need a resource they can access privately — without raising a flag.
A phone number to a call center isn't a care plan. Employees need structured guidance — what kind of care, how much it costs, how to pay for it — not a pamphlet and a 1-800 number.
Families who plan before a crisis spend less, make better decisions, and experience less caregiver burnout. The best time to give your employees this tool is before they urgently need it.
Senior Navigator is a free, HIPAA-compliant care planning tool you can offer to your employees today. No cost, no contract, no IT integration.