Why one company went above and beyond to give caregivers better benefits

For many workers, juggling a demanding job while maintaining their personal lives can feel like an uphill battle. But employees who have loved ones to support are really in a bind. 

Caregivers are often left to fend for themselves in a society with a tattered safetynet. The U.S. is one of just a handful of countries with no national laws around parental leave, and people caring for elderly parents are often left to their own devices to navigate a lengthy and expensive process.  

But one employer is taking the needs of its caregiving employees seriously by offering a niche benefit designed to support employees caring for immediate family members suffering from health complications. GuideWell, a health insurance company based out of Florida, allocates two weeks of paid leave on top of PTO and vacation to eligible workers who qualify for Family Medical Leave (FMLA). 

Family Medical Leave is a law that allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for family members with pressing medical needs. But Guidewell allows its workers to take a paid two weeks off without exhausting the FMLA time they’re entitled to.  

Pat Geraghty, the CEO of GuideWell, tells Fortune that this perk was necessary to bolster the company’s predominately female workforce, as women often shoulder caregiver responsibilities. Out of the business’ more than 18,000 workers, 72% identify as caregivers. Around 57% of employees support children, 18% help elders, and 28% provide assistance to both groups. 

“Most of our workforce is women. We understand that a number of our employees have caregiving situations, and we are acknowledging that and making it part of our benefits,” Geraghty says. 

In 2023, GuideWell approved 248 caretaking leaves, and plans to green-light around 300 this year. Alongside the perk, the company also created a caregiving employee resource group last month with the goal of bringing workers together to share their experiences. This is the only community ERG that extends across the business’ entire network of companies, including Florida Blue, which is owned by GuideWell, approved Florida Health Care Plans, Triple-S, Truli for Health, and Capital Health Plan.

The ability to take time off, and support groups for caregivers, are important for such a large but overlooked group. About 73% of all employees in the U.S. report having some type of caregiving responsibility, and 28% say that being a caretaker has harmed their careers, according to data from a 2019 Harvard Business School study. Around 57% of all caregivers experience clinically significant levels of stress, anxiety, or depression, according to a 2020 survey from ARCHANGELS, a platform that connects caretakers and highlights their situations, conducted in collaboration with BlueCross BlueShield. Promoting ways to connect and work through hardship is essential to fostering well-being among caregivers. 

GuideWell credits its caregiving benefit with boosting employee engagement, which in 2024 is more than 4% than when the company introduced its caregiver leave policy back in 2020. Geraghty says that the two-week perk and community ERG have improved employee well-being, leading to greater business results for the company. 

“If your people understand that you respect them, care for them, and understand their circumstances, they will do the very best job for you,” he says. 

For companies wanting to best support their caregiving staffers, Geraghty says that executives must lead with empathy. 

“We encourage people to demonstrate their humanity as leaders because that’s empowering. There’s no need for a macho approach. There really is a need for ‘We’re all people, we’re all in this together.’ We understand what our workers’ challenges are, and we’re going to try and be respectful and thoughtful about those challenges as leaders.”

Emma Burleigh
emma.burleigh@fortune.com

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