New research reveals that an underestimated employee burnout crisis caused by caregiving responsibilities now poses a major threat to retention.
The “2025 Future of Benefits Report” from Care.com, a large provider of online services for finding family care and care jobs, indicates that the majority of employers (84%) recognize that burnout has a moderate to high impact on retention. Yet, there is a 24-point disconnect in how employers and employees perceive burnout. Employers believe 45% of their employees are at risk of or are burning out, while 69% of employees report experiencing moderate to high burnout risk.
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The report’s findings further uncover an employee burnout crisis that has strong links to caregiving, as 83% of those who pay for family care say the challenge of balancing care responsibilities with work responsibilities exacerbates the risk of burnout.
The report features input from 600 C Suite-level executives, human resources decisionmakers at companies with more than 100 employees, as well as 1,000 benefits-eligible employees. And it includes a section about how employers can evolve their benefits strategies to better encompass family-care needs — including understanding the various care needs across their workforce, broadening their definition of caregiving, and providing access to expert resources and support.
“Juggling the financial, emotional, and mental load of caregiving alongside work is a recipe for burnout. Figuring out what kind of care is needed, finding the right provider, understanding costs — it’s a maze,” Wes Burke, chief human resources officer for Care.com, told BenefitsPRO. “When managers openly acknowledge their own caregiving responsibilities, whether it’s picking up a sick child or stepping away for an aging parent’s appointment, it signals that employees can do the same without fear. Companies that normalize caregiving, rather than treat it as a hurdle, will have a workforce that’s more engaged, loyal, and ready to perform.”
Here are three more key takeaways from the report:
1. Caregiving responsibilities drive burnout among employees.
Employees with access to family care benefits indicate that, without such access, they would experience higher stress (64%), a lower quality of life (48%), less time spent with family (41%), lower job satisfaction (40%), decreased mental health (38%), lower work productivity (34%), and greater absenteeism (34%).
2. Without family care benefits, employers risk losing talent.
Failing to provide caregiving support isn’t just a quality-of-life issue for employees; it’s a retention risk for employers. Approximately 1 in 5 employees might leave their job if another offered child care benefits (18%) and senior care benefits (20%). Meanwhile, nearly 1 in 5 employees (19%) have already left their jobs because their employer did not offer family care benefits.
3. Family care benefits positively impact both employers and employees.
Employers who invest in family care benefits cite improvements in employee wellbeing, workforce stability, and overall bottom line, according to Care.com.
“Our research sounds the alarm to business leaders that investing in the wellbeing of your people — especially caregiving employees — is critical,” Brad Wilson, CEO of Care.com, said in a statement. “The need to balance caregiving and work responsibilities is at the root of workplace burnout, draining productivity and driving turnover. We cannot afford to underestimate this crisis. It’s simple: provide caregiving support, prevent burnout at the source, and build resilient companies.”
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