In December of 2006, I was already stressed out. I was in the biggest job of my career as an HR executive, supporting a completely new and different client group, and the learning curve was steep. Working long hours, commuting almost two hours a day to and from work, and having many openings on my team, I was stressed out. Then I received the phone call…..

The Situation    

 …my father had a stroke, and I had to jump on a plane immediately to support my mother caring for him. Not knowing anything about caregiving, I was struggling to figure out a way to get my father back home safely. I knew nothing would be the same—his speech and his ability to stand and walk independently had been severely impaired. 

One of the hardest parts of being a long-distance caregiver like I am for my mother, who is over 600 miles away, is hospitalizations. My mom is 96 years old, hard of hearing (even with hearing aids), and English is her second language. For these reasons and many others, she always needs an advocate with her when health issues arise. Without proper advocacy, the risk of miscommunications, misdiagnosis, overtreatment, delayed discharge, and less-than-adequate care increases.    

A Moment in My Care Journey

As we start into a new year of caregiving, I thought I would share a critical moment from my personal care journey. I already mentioned that I am a long-distance caregiver, right? Well, a week before Christmas, my mother was admitted to the hospital for atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, dehydration, and UTI. With the pending holidays, a growing shortage of staff, seasonal flu, and other viral episodes, getting someone on the phone to get status updates or trying to return a call to a physician who left me a message while I was in a meeting was extremely difficult.

As 2025 comes to a close, the holiday season is an ideal time to reflect on the crucial role that caregivers play in our families, workplaces, and communities. While this time of year is often filled with celebration and generosity, it can also present challenges for the millions of Americans who care for spouses or partners managing long-term conditions, aging parents, chronically ill loved ones, or children with special needs. 

Beyond the traditional wrapped packages, many caregivers provide gifts of their time, presence, and emotional support every day, often at the expense of their own well-being. This season is an opportunity to honor those contributions. Whether it’s doing something to lighten a caregiver’s load, a few hours of respite, or a heartfelt note, small gestures can make a significant difference. 

Did you know that in the U.S. there are about 5.4 million children and adolescents (ages 10 - 17) who provide some form of unpaid family caregiving to loved ones? They care for their parents, grandparents and other family members suffering from conditions related to aging, disabilities, chronic illnesses, mental health decline and various other ailments. If you didn’t know this, you are not alone. The valuable services this population of caregivers provide often go unrecognized. 

Did you know that November is National Family Caregivers Month? In its honor, we were privileged to participate in the Caregiver Nation Summit 2025 hosted by the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC). Complete with panel discussions and speeches from C-suite executives, celebrity caregivers, non-celebrity caregivers, and government officials, the Summit informed, inspired, and reframed caregiving from a private burden to a public good. According to the most recent NAC/AARP report, there are currently 63 million family caregivers in the U.S. – nearly 1 in 4 adults. (A 50% increase over the last ten years).

Brother Can You Spare a Dollar?

Have you ever been waiting at a stop light at a busy intersection and noticed someone sitting on the curb in a wheelchair holding up a cup and a cardboard sign? The sign said something like, “Disabled Veteran Please Help.” Unfortunately, this scenario is one we see much too frequently, especially in a country traditionally known globally as the “land of milk and honey.” Yet, we are seeing more and more veterans living on the streets of our nation. Many having weathered the battlegrounds of war, now unarmed against the harsh elements of a society that seems to have forgotten them.

Caregiving Resources: From Limited and Local to Digital and Global

Twenty years ago, caregiving could easily be described as a private and isolating experience. Although unpaid family caregivers comprised a significant portion of the workforce, they largely remained silent and invisible regarding their dual roles of working and caring. Caregiving resources were limited, fragmented, and harder to access. Fast forward to today, and the caregiving landscape appears very different in many ways. Technology, community advocacy, and increasing workplace awareness have helped transform how caregivers find information, care for their loved ones, and support and connect. 

In this blog, we compare the caregiving resources that were available 20 years ago to those available today, highlighting improvements and where challenges remain.

Caregiving Resources: From Limited and Local to Digital and Global

Twenty years ago, caregiving could easily be described as a private and isolating experience. Although unpaid family caregivers comprised a significant portion of the workforce, they largely remained silent and invisible regarding their dual roles of working and caring. Caregiving resources were limited, fragmented, and harder to access. Fast forward to today, and the caregiving landscape appears very different in many ways. Technology, community advocacy, and increasing workplace awareness have helped transform how caregivers find information, care for their loved ones, and support and connect. 

In this blog, we compare the caregiving resources that were available 20 years ago to those available today, highlighting improvements and where challenges remain.

Millennial Caregivers: The Future of the U.S. Care Economy

In today’s workforce, the millennial caregiver is often the most underestimated of all the employee segments. Born between 1981 and 1996, these workers are building careers while facing the demands of childcare, eldercare, and financial instability. Did you know that millennials compose the largest employee segment in today’s workforce? The majority of them (54%) admit to moderate or high levels of financial stress. And almost 1 in 2 state that family caregiving has negatively affected their mental health. Employers who are concerned with productivity and retention would do well to understand and help address the challenges this group faces.

Older Women: Unwavering Pillars of the U.S. Care Economy

Okay ladies, this one’s for you! It is no secret that for many generations now, women have taken on the primary responsibility for caregiving roles both in terms of professional caregiving as well as in the area of unpaid family care. In this blog we discuss the critical contributions and the sacrifices women have made and continue to make to ensure the well-being of their loved ones, and their overall impact on the U.S. care economy. Our focus will be directed toward the more senior (or should we say, the more seasoned) population of female caregivers (55 years old and older).  Literature from the U.S. Department of Labor makes some powerful statements regarding this group of working caregivers as follows:

Working Caregiver Bereavement: How Employers Can Lead With Empathy

It’s been said that the final stage of caregiving is bereavement. On the one hand, bereavement is indeed the final stage of caring, but on the other hand, bereavement is the beginning stage of something else – grief. Often, where an employee has spent long periods (months or even years) caring for a loved one, the loss of that individual represents more than just the loss of the person; it’s the loss of daily routines and a major part of the caregiver’s identity. This is complicated by workplace cultures that are uncertain about how to welcome the grieving employee back into the fold. Colleagues may be at a loss for what to say to the returning employee, and as a result, they say nothing. This only adds to the employee’s feelings of isolation and loneliness. So, what can employers do to help support their bereaved employees during this difficult part of their care journey? Let’s talk.

Working Caregiver Bereavement: How Employers Can Lead With Empathy

It’s been said that the final stage of caregiving is bereavement. On the one hand, bereavement is indeed the final stage of caring, but on the other hand, bereavement is the beginning stage of something else – grief. Often, where an employee has spent long periods (months or even years) caring for a loved one, the loss of that individual represents more than just the loss of the person; it’s the loss of daily routines and a major part of the caregiver’s identity. This is complicated by workplace cultures that are uncertain about how to welcome the grieving employee back into the fold. Colleagues may be at a loss for what to say to the returning employee, and as a result, they say nothing. This only adds to the employee’s feelings of isolation and loneliness. So, what can employers do to help support their bereaved employees during this difficult part of their care journey? Let’s talk.

Do You Have Your Caregiver Skills Listed in Your LinkedIn Profile?

Many people consider caring for a loved one a personal responsibility. However, it is more than that. We could say it’s a masterclass in crisis management, performance efficiency, leadership, empathy, and a host of other valuable skills. Indeed, the success of a family caregiver often requires the ability to recognize and respond to a health crisis on a moment’s notice. To organize and manage a variety of healthcare components, including medications, dietary requirements, and activities of daily life. To interface with physicians and medical support staff, ensuring that the patient’s health condition is consistently monitored, and issues are promptly addressed. Some of the same skills that caregivers must use at home to care for their loved ones, help them perform their job duties at work.

The True Cost of Unpaid Family Caregiving

These prices have to be a mistake! I can’t afford these eggs! Recently, exclamations like this could be heard in the diary sections of grocery stores across the nation. In March 2025, the national price for a carton of eggs reached an all-time high of $8.15 per dozen. Some states reported prices as high as almost $10.00 per dozen. Store owners cited bird flu outbreaks that reduced the hen population, inflation resulting in higher costs for feed and labor, and state regulations mandating cage-free eggs as reasons for the inflated egg prices.

Summer Strain: Caregiving Through Vacation Season

While caring for a loved one comes with many daily challenges, caring during the summer months can be especially difficult. Unlike the winter holidays, which typically last for a short timeframe, the summer involves several months where there may be a need to shift from the daily routine of care. For example, during the summer, kids are out of school, professional caregivers may take their vacations, and care facilities may switch to shorter hours of operation. These occurrences contribute to large gaps in support. Did you know that the majority of working caregivers (60%) say that it is more difficult to coordinate care during the summer months than during other times of the year. (AARP)

Caregiver Preparedness: A Responsibility Employees and Employers Share

Employees! HR Managers! Employers! Are you ready for the caregiver storm that is steadily impacting US businesses? Often, when we think of a storm, we naturally think of taking shelter, getting to a safe place, boarding up our windows, and securing all areas of vulnerability. Our goal is to protect ourselves and our loved ones long before the storm hits. Similarly, we should engage in acts of preparedness to protect our families and our businesses from the caregiver storm that is steadily on the rise in the workplace. Unfortunately, however, this is not the case. When the responsibilities of family caregiving fall squarely upon our shoulders, we are most often not ready to bear the weight. But, instead of taking proactive steps to prepare ourselves, we wait until we are directly hit with the obligations of caregiving. Then we struggle with the negative consequences that overwhelm us. Not a good situation for the employee, the employer, or the person receiving care.

Did You Know About the Sandwich Generation?

If you’re wondering where the term “sandwich generation,” came from, it’s been around since the early 1980’s. Coined by two women, (Dorothy Miller and Elaine Brody who first introduced the term in the areas of social work and gerontology) it initially referred to adults (primarily women in their 30s) caring for their own children and their aging parents simultaneously. Over the years, the term has broadened as the faces of family caregivers have changed to include both men and women, primarily ranging from 35 to 55 years old. Similarly, the population of people being cared for has expanded to include not only elderly parents and young children, but older children, grandchildren, and grandparents as well. However, the concept remains that the caregiver is “sandwiched” between caring for at least two of these generations at one time.

In recent years, you may have heard of the debate between proponents of work/life balance (a concept introduced into the workplace in 1910) and those of a newer concept – work/life integration. You may be wondering what the big deal is. After all, “A rose by any other name,” right? Well, that’s not the case. In fact, these are two totally different ideas regarding how employees should accomplish their work and personal responsibilities. We might even say that these two conflicting ideas are direct opposites. Let’s start by getting a clear understanding of each of these concepts.

If you are an employer, whether a small business owner or large corporation, you may wonder why offering caregiver benefits to your employees is important. You may be asking yourself: “Is it really necessary? Can I afford it?  Why should I--no one has asked me for them? We agree that the advantages of offering these benefits may not be so obvious. So, let’s take a few minutes to discuss some of the positive consequences for business owners who make the decision to do so. Before we get there, however, let’s consider some pertinent facts and figures that may help guide your decision.

Did you know that one in every six people in the U.S. are 65 years old or older? (Journal of Financial Planning) It is estimated that 70 percent of this group will need some form of long-term care at some point during their lifetime. However, despite this eye-opening data, many people have not given any thought to long-term care planning, including the risks of a long-term care event happening to them personally, or how they would pay for care if it did. The best time to start looking for long-term care options is long before you need them. Still, many people wait until an emergency occurs, when the need to find long-term care placement or support for themselves or their loved ones becomes an immediate priority. This does not have to be the case.