Jul 31 What is the Sandwich Generation & How Can Employers Support Them?
HOW EMPLOYERS CAN SUPPORT CAREGIVING EMPLOYEES
Millions of Millennial and Gen X workers are caught between aging parents who need care and children who still depend on them. They are also the mid-career employees companies have spent years developing into leaders, and the ones most likely to walk if that squeeze goes unaddressed, according to one workplace authority.
“As the population ages, employers will increasingly find that their workers have multiple, pressing demands on their time and energy. It’s crucial for employers to plan for this shift that’s often already occurring in their workplaces,” said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer and workplace expert for outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
According to Pew Research Center, roughly a quarter of U.S. adults and more than half of Americans in their 40s have a parent aged 65 or older while still raising or supporting a child. Gen X is currently most impacted, but Millennials are moving into the same position. The Population Reference Bureau projects the 65-and-older population will grow from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050. By 2030, roughly one in five Americans will be 65 or older.
Meanwhile, the aging parents employees are helping care for are frequently the same people providing childcare for their grandkids. According to research from American Association of Retired Persons, nearly 70% of grandparents provide some level of care for their grandchildren, averaging more than 500 hours a year, or the equivalent of 12-and-a-half weeks of full-time work. Of that group, 15% provide care daily or almost daily.
“When a grandparent has a health event, it isn’t one crisis for your employee. It quickly becomes two,” said Challenger.
The impact falls disproportionately on women, who have left the workforce in droves. According to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data by Challenger, 332,000 fewer women aged 16 years and older are employed in 2026 through June. A survey by Catalyst found that 42% of women who left the workforce did so due to childcare and the high costs associated with it.
“This is a workforce issue, not a personal issue. Sandwiched caregivers cut hours, decline promotions, and sometimes leave their organizations entirely. That’s talent walking out the door, and it’s often the experienced, mid-career talent you spent years developing,” warned Challenger.
Most employers continue to offer flexibility to workers, though not at nearly the same level as during the pandemic. According to the most recent HR Trends and Issues survey from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, just under 50% of employers are offering hybrid work options, down from 70% in the fall of 2024. Remote work options have also fallen since 2024: 44% of employers are offering remote work, down from 54% in 2024.
“Flexibility is the single most important thing employers can offer to caregivers. A doctor’s appointment for an aging parent doesn’t respect a 9-to-5 calendar. Neither does a sick kindergartener. Remote and hybrid schedules, flexible start and stop times, and compressed workweeks let caregivers manage the unpredictable without stepping off their career track,” said Challenger.
Direct childcare benefits are rarer than most people assume. In a 2021 Challenger survey, just 13% of companies offered direct childcare support, because on-site childcare is expensive and complicated to run.
“If leaders roll back flexibility, their talent will leave. And it only works if managers are trained to honor it. A policy on paper that middle managers quietly punish is worse than no policy at all,” said Challenger.
Challenger offered ways employers can support caregiving workers:
- Normalize eldercare, not just childcare. Most family-friendly benefits language stops at children. Update policies, manager trainings, and employee handbook messaging to explicitly name eldercare. Workers won’t ask for what they don’t know is available.
- Offer caregiving leave and make it usable. A generous policy no one takes is not a benefit. Leaders should model taking the time and promote it to workers when they need it.
- Build backup care into your benefits mix. Emergency backup care, elder-care navigation services, and partnerships with caregiving platforms can be more cost-effective than replacing a mid-career employee.
- Train managers to ask and listen. Most sandwiched employees don’t want special treatment. They want a manager who understands that this week is hard, and that they’ll be back at full strength next week. That kind of trust is retention.
- Watch your return-to-office policies. A blanket five-day mandate hits sandwiched caregivers hardest. If you’re pulling people back, consider who will be pushed out.