COMP NEWS – One company is proving that generous benefits can help boost employee engagement and retention. GuideWell, a health insurance company out of Florida, is offering a unique PTO plan for employees needing to support immediate family members suffering from health complications.

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). 

GuideWell plans to green-light around 300 more caretaking leaves this year.

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, Florida Health Care Plans, Triple-S Salud, 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. 

To read more about using caregiving benefits to boost employee retention, click here.

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