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Caregiver workforce blind spot adds hidden retention costs for employers
Anonymized “care census” surveys are proposed, with cited research linking a 3% caregiver-turnover reduction to a return on benefits above 100%, using a 50%-of-salary replacement cost assumption.
Most US employers run benefits programs without knowing how many employees are caregivers, even though a Harvard Business Review article frames the issue as a measurable cost and a target for benefits brokers.
The article, by W. Brad Johnson and David G. Smith of Johns Hopkins University, cites workplace research showing 73% of US employees identify as caregivers for children, aging parents, or other family members, while more than half of employers collect no data on those obligations.
It also argues the gap is not only about data collection, because employees may conceal caregiving responsibilities due to perceived career risk. The piece points to a Vivvi survey that found only 22% of working parents feel “very welcome” to express their caregiver identity at work, and it cites SHRM findings that 42% of working caregivers reported career challenges tied to insufficient support and unpredictable interruptions, and that 56% of working caregivers caring for adults lacked consistent support.
The article highlights research suggesting a 3% reduction in caregiver turnover, assuming a 50%-of-salary replacement cost, can produce a return on caregiving benefits exceeding 100%. It recommends employers use an anonymized, recurring employee survey, or “care census,” to collect aggregate caregiving data so benefits can be designed around support gaps without forcing individual disclosure, according to SHRM’s cited replacement-cost estimates ranging from 50% to 200% of annual salary depending on role.