Support Caregivers, Help People You Know — and the Economy Too?

I am comfortable stating that we all know someone who is either a caregiver or who needs regular care — and I don't like to use the word "all" lightly. Yet despite this shared reality, evidence grows that the systems meant to support caregivers still fall short. Where are the changemakers on this issue?
We’re watching this issue rise on the national radar — and for good reason. The emotional and physical health toll of caregiving is deeply personal. The economic toll? It's profound.

Recent studies from diverse private, government, and nonprofit institutions highlight just how much our communities — and our economy — rely on unpaid care:

• RAND Corporation researchers estimate that family caregivers lose $522 billion in wages each year.
• A report from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health found that if unpaid caregiving were treated as a business, it would generate more revenue than any single global company.
• McKinsey & Company reports that workplaces could dramatically improve lives — and their bottom lines — by better supporting caregivers.
• The U.S. Department of Labor found that unpaid family caregiving reduces a mother’s lifetime earnings by 15%.

The numbers are staggering. But so is the opportunity to lead change.

Investing in solutions that support caregivers — from robust eldercare and childcare supports to paid leave and flexible schedules — can improve productivity, reduce turnover, and offer real relief to families. More organizations are beginning to respond, encouragingly signaling a shift toward long-overdue structural solutions.

Resources Worth Exploring

Thriving workplaces: How employers can improve productivity and change lives, McKinsey Institute

US Department of Labor report finds impact of caregiving on mother’s wages reduces lifetime earnings by 15 percent, USDOL

Caregiving, RAND Corporation

New Report Reveals U.S. Family Caregivers Perform Equivalent of a Staggering $873.5 Billion Worth of Labor, Would Surpass Revenue of Top Global Companies, Otsuka Healthcare