When Laura’s* husband was diagnosed with cancer, she started to struggle at work. Living one hour away from the cancer centre with no nearby support, she had to manage everything on her own, taking him to his day-long hospital visits every other week, and coordinating his daily in-home chemotherapy, IV hydration, and mobility care–all while holding down a full-time job.

Still, Laura considers herself lucky. Her employer let her work from home and adjust her hours. “It was a difficult and draining time,” she says. “However, I never felt pressured by my employer. They lightened my load and were incredibly flexible.” When her husband eventually passed away, she was offered grief support and additional bereavement time.

But not all caregivers receive this kind of support. A new national report from telehealth company Maple highlights a growing caregiving crisis leading to higher absenteeism, financial strain, and burnout. It found that 7.8 million Canadians provide unpaid care each week, contributing 5.7 billion hours annually. Working caregivers are nearly twice as likely to miss work due to mental health reasons and often rely on vacation or sick days to manage their caregiving duties.

These pressures are quietly reshaping the workplace and impacting how Canadians stay engaged at work. Renee Wilczewski, director of total rewards & HR technology at book and lifestyle retailer Indigo, understands the caregiving crisis personally and professionally. As a university student, she shifted her classes to care for her grandmother during the day. Today, she oversees programs that support employees, including compensation, benefits, and well-being and leave initiatives. 

As the number of workplace caregivers grows with an aging population, these demands will continue to shape the workforce, making employers crucial in supporting employees and reducing absenteeism, turnover, and related costs. Wilczewski shares four strategies businesses can use to ease the strain while managing the financial and operational impact of caregiving.

Understand your workforce

Caregiving responsibilities can place significant personal pressures on employees and can spill over into their work. At Indigo, internal surveys show more than 70 percent of employees identify as female– a group research suggests is more likely than men to put their own health needs on hold while caring for dependents. Nearly one in five employees belongs to the sandwich generation, balancing care for both children and aging parents. According to Maple’s report, 86 per cent of sandwich-generation caregivers say caregiving affects their health or well-being, and nearly two-thirds worry it could impact their ability to stay employed. 

Caring for her aging mother while raising five children and working full time has shaped Wilczewski’s focus on understanding the diverse needs of Indigo’s workforce. “I’ve seen the strain many caregivers—particularly women in the sandwich generation—face while trying to sustain their careers,” she says. “They’re why I want to ensure our programs address the realities of modern caregiving, and why I strongly believe flexibility can’t be one-size-fits-all.”

For employers looking to ease the burden of caregiving on their employees, Wilczewski recommends first understanding who employees are and where gaps in care exist. She advises creating targeted  support and tracking key metrics, including program usage, satisfaction, and business outcomes, such as engagement, attendance, turnover, and tenure. “When employees feel supported through complex life stages, they’re better able to stay healthy, remain engaged, and continue building their careers,” Wilczewski says.

Listen to employees

Many of Indigo’s programs were born after employees spoke up and management listened, says Wilczewski. Insights from engagement surveys, pulse checks, conversations with managers and HR partners, wellness inquiries, and absence data gave her team a clearer picture of employees’ challenges. Those insights highlighted the need for a modern caregiving program built around flexibility..

Building on that understanding, in 2024, Indigo transitioned its Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) to Inkblot, a digital mental health provider. Through its partnership with Maple, a virtual care platform, employees can access coordinated mental health and primary care services. The platform gives employees and their eligible dependents access to integrated mental and physical healthcare in one place, including counselling and support for caregivers facing heightened stress, accessible wherever they live and work. 

She advises caregivers seeking support to start by sharing their experiences and clearly explaining what would make a meaningful difference. She specifically encourages employees to seek flexibility in their schedule and responsibilities, along with  access to benefits like virtual care and mental health resources. She also suggests finding allies in HR, leadership, or among colleagues, who can help advance  these conversations. “When personal stories are paired with clear data, they can be powerful drivers of meaningful change,” she says.

Provide targeted care

Understanding the needs of their workforce allows employers to design policies and benefits that better support caregivers. The Cost of Caring report shows that 92 per cent of caregivers say long wait times and difficulty accessing reliable care reduce their productivity. At Indigo, benefits usage data and employee conversations revealed that many lack regular access to a primary care physician and may turn to Google searches for self-diagnosis. 

To help address this gap, Indigo’s EFAP now offers virtual health advisory services for employees and their eligible dependents. According to Wilczewski, these services can connect families with qualified providers and reduce delays in accessing care, making it one of several tools designed to support caregivers across the organization.

Through virtual care platforms like Maple, Indigo employees and their eligible family members can access confidential online video counseling. “We want to remove barriers, make it easier to ask for help, and ensure support is available when and where life happens,” Wilczewski says. “Healthier people are more present and engaged, and that shows up in the business.” Other offerings, such as family care leave and paid wellness time, provide additional support for caregivers. By helping employees manage responsibilities both at work and at home, she says the company sees lower turnover and higher tenure than is typical in retail, particularly among part-time roles.

Pay attention to the results

Finally, Wilczewski stresses that employers should track the impact of caregiver support and adjust as needed. Over the past year, Indigo employees completed more than 3,000 virtual care and EFAP consultations, addressing a range of needs, including caregiving. Since making these services available to both part- and full-time staff, short-term disability absences have declined, and mental health-related long-term disability leave has dropped significantly year over year.

Related: How to Beat Gen Z Workplace Burnout

Wilczewski says some employees have quietly shared that they were caring for an aging parent overnight while managing a medical issue, struggling to balance these responsibilities without missing work or facing long wait times. “For caregivers, being able to speak with a physician outside of regular hours, renew a prescription, or get guidance without taking time off can make a meaningful difference,” she adds.

She stresses that easing the burden of caregiving starts with recognizing it as essential work. That means offering benefits that modernize access to physical and mental health support and expanding paid leave to help employees stay engaged and supported through challenging times. “When employees and families feel seen and supported, they stay, they grow, and they help the organization thrive,” she says.

* The name of this source has been changed to protect their privacy.