Workers are struggling to balance their jobs with unpaid caregiving responsibilities. For many employees, caring for a child or an aging relative has its own set of duties, which can go unseen in the workplace.

Care.com's CareBenefits " 2026 Future of Benefits Report ," which surveyed 600 U.S. benefits decision-makers and 1,000 U.S. employees, found that 52% of workers currently care or plan to care for both a child and an aging loved one at the same time. The report also shows that 53% of employees missed work due to caregiving challenges, 60% say it significantly increases their stress at work, and 48% experienced decreased productivity due to having to find or manage care. For a growing share of employees, caregiving isn’t just shaping their personal lives; it’s also shaping their work lives.

The Side Effects of Caregiving Hit Women in the Workforce Hardest

Women shoulder a disproportionate share of caregiving responsibilities, often at a direct cost to their careers. According to AARP’s “ Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 ” survey of 6,858 family caregivers, women account for 61% of unpaid caregivers nationwide. Additionally, Care.com's CareBenefits report found that in 2025, around half a million U.S. women left the workforce, with nearly half of those who exited voluntarily citing caregiving responsibilities as a primary cause.

What's more, A Place for Mom's (APFM) " Women and Caregiving " report, which surveyed 1,029 unpaid caregivers ages 40 to 75 caring for adults 55 and older, found households in which a woman cares for an aging loved one have a lower average annual income of $62,302, while those with men in the same situation earn $77,273 on average. Women are also more likely to say that caregiving affects their jobs, whether through reduced time to focus on work, leaving paid positions altogether, or other negative career consequences.

When asked about the company's research, A Place for Mom CEO Tatyana Zlotsky said in an interview that "lost income and stalled careers don't just affect women in the moment, they can reshape a woman's long-term financial security." Per Zlotsky, less time in the workforce often means "lower retirement savings, reduced Social Security benefits, and fewer financial resources later in life," and while those decisions may be necessary in the moment, they can create "financial consequences that last for decades, long after the caregiving journey has ended."

HiBob's " US Women Professionals in the Workplace 2026 " report, which surveyed 2,000 U.S. professionals in January 2026, reinforces APFM's findings. It found that 15% of women say taking parental leave would negatively affect their career progression, and another 26% believe it could have at least a minor impact. Caregiving takes a significant professional toll, and women are often the ones paying the price long-term.

Why Caregiving Sets Careers Back, And How Leaders Can Address This

The significant impact of caregiving on long-term career advancement, satisfaction and stability is worsening, in part, due to rigid RTO mandates that followed the pandemic. As previously reported , remote work became far more common for white-collar workers during the pandemic, making it easier for caregivers to manage both jobs and family responsibilities. This helped more caregivers, especially women, join or stay in the workforce. Yet companies like Amazon, J.P. Morgan, and Goldman Sachs have since required employees to return to the office five days a week. This shift has left caregivers with fewer options, forcing many to choose between paying for costly care or leaving the workforce altogether to look after children or aging relatives.

Flexible work policies, such as hybrid and remote work, can support caregivers and help them start or keep working. However, leaders can't treat flexibility as a one-size-fits-all fix on its own. According to HiBob's report, if career advancement still relies on being visible or constantly available in the office, hybrid arrangements won't equate to opportunity. To solve this, the report recommends leaders shift toward evaluating employees based on their results rather than their hours spent in an office.

HiBob's report also found that 42% of organizations lack formal programs to help caregivers re-enter the workforce. Without structured transition options, employees are often left to figure out re-entry after leave on their own. According to the report, leaders can ensure career progress stays on track by keeping returning caregivers visible in major projects, maintaining mentorship relationships during leave, and offering phased returns or clear reintegration plans.

Additionally, Care.com's CareBenefits report identified a gap between the benefits employers offer and what employees actually know about. The report found that 39% of employers offer child care benefits, but only 22% of employees know these benefits exist. The gap is similar for senior care, as 25% of employers offer it, yet only 15% of employees are aware of it. Many caregivers may be missing out on support that's already available to them because they aren’t aware it exists.

To close this gap, the report suggests employers treat benefits awareness as an ongoing effort rather than a one-time announcement. This means sharing information through multiple channels, especially for hybrid teams, using both email and onsite messaging, and building awareness into onboarding, employee resource groups , and seasonal reminders during high-need times like school breaks or back-to-school season. The report also recommends employers track the impact of these benefits through pulse-check surveys on caregiving-related absenteeism, productivity and turnover before and after making these changes. Measuring these outcomes over time can help leaders better understand what is and isn’t working, allowing them to better strategize and optimize how they support their teams.

Caregivers are becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s workforce. Life insurance company Guardian’s “From Workforce to ‘Careforce ’” report, which surveyed 2,000 U.S. employee benefits decision-makers, shows that 43% of Americans split their time between working full-time and caring for their loved ones, a percentage that has grown by double digits in recent years. As noted by Guardian CHRO Stacey Hoin, “With nearly half of full-time workers also taking on caregiving roles, today's workforce continues to undergo a profound transformation that will only accelerate in the years ahead.”

Indeed, according to Census Bureau data , the number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to increase within the next 24 years, from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050. As that number climbs, more employees will find themselves balancing caregiving with their careers in the years ahead. For companies, this shift comes with an opportunity. Employers that rethink how they measure performance, build real pathways for employees to return after leave, and communicate the support they already offer are better positioned to retain talent as caregiving becomes a bigger part of more workers' lives.