The Caregiving Crisis Hiding Inside Your Workforce

Seth Sternberg's company began with a small moment. His mother picked him up at the airport in Connecticut and was driving slower than usual. This was a woman who used to collect speeding tickets on family road trips out west. When he asked why, she said driving was just harder than it used to be.

Seth, CEO of Honor Technology, told me during our Belonging and Retention season that this comment changed his path. He had already built and sold a company to Google, and his team had spent about 18 months looking for a hard problem that could help millions of people. His mother's answer pointed them to home care for older adults. It also led him to a problem most employers still don't see.

I came to this conversation personally. I am part of the sandwich generation. I lost my father to Alzheimer's, and my mother has been recovering from a stroke and a broken hip. I know how much this work asks of families.

Listening in coffee shops

Before Seth's team incorporated anything, they interviewed caregivers in coffee shops, about 25 in Sacramento and 25 in Phoenix.

What they heard was revealing. Caregivers said they were professionals but weren't treated like professionals. The industry often called them unskilled. They feared walking into unknown homes, never knowing what was behind the door. And they could lose half their pay in a single week when a client moved into a facility.

That last detail is worth pausing on. Imagine planning a household budget when half your income can disappear with little warning. It is no wonder turnover in home care is so high.

So Seth's company started calling them Care Pros, because that is what they are, and built its approach around what he calls care for the Care Pro: more visibility before entering a home, jobs matched to the schedules and locations people want, and enough scale to backfill hours so a lost client doesn't mean a lost paycheck. With a small share of the market, Seth sees his job simply as creating a better job, so the best caregivers choose to work there.

Families matter too, but Seth learned they don't always know what a parent truly needs, and parents often hide it from their children. So his team talks directly with the older adult. He noted that only a small share of older adults live in senior communities. Nearly everyone else lives at home, which is where care has to work.

The hidden cost on the employer's side

Seth also raised an issue that reaches far beyond home care. Many employees are caring for aging parents while holding full-time jobs, often while raising children too. Seth cited estimates that about one in five employees is caring for an older adult. They take calls in the parking lot, leave early for appointments and lie awake worrying about a parent living alone.

Most employers don't see it, because employees rarely talk about it. "The reality is employers are missing out on workforce productivity as a result of that. It's a silent, hidden thing." They are also losing good people they then have to pay to replace.

His recommendation was straightforward. Employers should offer parent care the way they offer childcare: some respite care each year for emergencies, and a partner that can help employees whose parents live in other parts of the country.

Belonging means seeing the whole life

People feel they belong when their organization understands their reality, not just their role. An employee quietly managing a parent's decline, while being measured as if nothing else were happening, will eventually reach a breaking point. Some will leave. Others will stay and disengage.

An employer that acknowledges caregiving, offers flexibility and provides practical support sends a powerful message: we see what you are carrying.

Seth's own test for a life well lived applies here too. Imagine you are two weeks from the end and looking back. Money won't matter then. What will matter is whether your family was cared for and whether you helped people who were less fortunate.

Questions for employers

• Do you know how many of your employees are caring for an aging parent?
• Do your benefits support elder care as seriously as child care?
• Would an employee feel comfortable telling their manager they need flexibility to care for a parent?
• Where is caregiving quietly showing up in your absence, turnover or engagement data?

For families choosing a home care provider, Seth offered one practical question: how many clients do you currently serve in my area? It tells you a great deal about reliability, including whether someone can step in when a caregiver calls out.

You can watch my full conversation with Seth in The Silent Crisis of Caregiving, part of the Belonging and Retention season.

Seth's mother noticed that driving had gotten harder, and her son listened. Every organization has employees facing moments like that at home. The leaders who listen will keep them.

Want to explore these ideas further? Learn more about my work on leadership, identity and conviction at www.theglennllopis.com.