When Julia Cohen Sebastien had a loved one become ill, that was all she could think about at work.

“It definitely lowered my productivity,” she said during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s July virtual conference. “I hit burnout a lot faster in my job, and ultimately I had to take medical leave and started racking up new costs for my own treatment.”

The HR department wasn’t fully supportive, says Cohen Sebastien. Even her mentor told to get over it and put on a smile.

Cohen Sebastien left that job and went on to co-found Grayce, where she is the CEO. Grayce is a family care navigation platform that partners with employers to support personalized care journeys for their employees’ diverse needs.

“At Grayce, we really take a holistic care approach to supporting an employee and their family,” Cohen Sebastien said. “And that’s about giving them tools, resources, and hands on support, to take things off their plate, so that they can navigate both the short-term and the long-term care responsibilities, including taking care of themselves.”

More Employees Are Caregivers Than Employers Think

Cohen Sebastien noted that around 73% of all employees have some type of outside caregiving responsibilities for a loved one, whether that be for children, aging parents or grandparents, spouses or partners, siblings, or even themselves.

“Up to 50% of employees say that they’re afraid to reveal their caregiving responsibilities to their employers because they are afraid of what that will cost them at work,” she said. 

In addition, the amount of time people are spending on caregiving duties for their loved ones is skyrocketing because fewer professional caregivers are available, which drives up prices for those services, says Cohen Sebastien.

When employees take on caregiving duties, it can become the equivalent of a part-time or even full-time job. Sometimes, they take multiple days off each month due to those responsibilities.

Those who are in the sandwich generation find themselves caring for their young children as well as their aging parents. These employees tend to have a lot of seniority in the company and are difficult to replace, so their support needs to be comprehensive. 

Organizations need to consider the ROI of supporting employers who are caregivers. “It’s a pretty important topic to make people’s lives easier just at that moment when they need it,” she said. 

How to Support Caregivers

Caregivers want a variety of support from employers. “Beyond time away and flexibility, employees want help to lighten the load,” she said. “In many cases, they need help accessing things, removing barriers to care and navigating the complexity.”

For example, one of Grayce’s licensed clinical social workers helped an employee who was concerned about his aging father’s physical and financial safety. The employee was taking leave to travel and wanted help transferring his dad’s guardianship to his sibling.

The clinical social worker expedited the guardianship transfer and helped transition the father into a safe senior living community of the siblings’ choice. The employee “was able to come back to work in 10 days with confidence and peace of mind,” Cohen Sebastien said. 

With the help of Grayce, many employees have been able to stay in their jobs and not have to take leave, or at least shorten the time they are on leave, says Cohen Sebastien. 

Although mental health days and general wellness solutions are excellent support for employees, they aren’t enough to give caregivers the help they need. It’s all about “going after some of those key life challenges that prevent them from being able to be present and happy.”

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Grayce, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. 

Mary Pieper is a freelance writer based in Mason City, Iowa.