Caregiving and resiliency: The pressure employers don’t always see
Caregiving is no longer a niche issue in the workforce. It is a defining one.
Employees across industries are balancing full-time work with caring for children, aging parents, or family members with complex needs. And it is quietly eroding resiliency.
A constant source of disruption
Unlike a single life event, caregiving introduces ongoing, day-to-day disruption. It’s not one moment of stress. It’s a continuous shift in priorities, time, and emotional energy.
For many employees, that means navigating:
- Unpredictable schedules
- Emotional strain
- Financial obligations
- Reduced recovery time
Our research* shows that when it comes to current impacts on well-being:
- 48% of employees have financial pressures
- 72% report stress or anxiety
- 41% say more time is needed to recover
Caregiving often amplifies all three. As a result, employees balancing these responsibilities are more likely to experience sustained strain — not because they lack commitment, but because they have less capacity to recover between disruptions.
The cumulative effect
Caregiving doesn’t always lead to immediate burnout. More often, it creates a gradual erosion of resiliency over time.
As responsibilities accumulate, employees have less opportunity to reset and recover. That shows up in subtle but meaningful ways:
- Less time to recharge
- Increased emotional fatigue
- Reduced focus and productivity
Employees may continue to perform, but with diminishing capacity, making it harder to respond to new challenges or bounce back from additional stress.
What support looks like in practice
Recognizing caregiving as a structural challenge, not just a personal one, is key to strengthening resiliency.
Support doesn’t come from a single solution. It comes from how benefits, policies, and communication work together to create stability.
That often includes:
- Flexible work and leave policies
- Financial stability through benefits
- Access to support resources and guidance
- Clear, consistent communication
When these elements are in place, employees are better able to manage ongoing responsibilities without becoming overwhelmed and maintain the capacity to recover when it matters most.
*Source: New York Life Group Benefit Solutions survey conducted by Morning Consult between November 21 – December 3, 2025 among a sample of 2002 U.S. employees and 400 employers in the private sector or government. The interviews were conducted online and the data was weighted to approximate a target sample based on gender. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.
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SMRU 8854229 Exp. 04/03/2029