ENTERPRISE WORKFORCE INFRASTRUCTURE

Eldercare Is Now a Core HR Problem. Most Employers Don't Know It Yet.

One in four of your employees is actively managing the care of an aging parent — right now. The productivity loss, absenteeism, attrition, and healthcare costs this creates are already in your workforce data. CareNgen is built to address it.

ANNUAL COST IMPACT — 5,000-PERSON EMPLOYER

$16M

Productivity loss from presenteeism

$3.2M

Unplanned absenteeism costs

$3M

Attrition & replacement spend

$1.2M

Elevated healthcare utilization

TOTAL ANNUAL WORKFORCE TAX *

~$23.4M

$4,680

per employee / year

Sources: Johns Hopkins, MetLife/Family Caregiver Alliance, Harvard Business School, National Alliance on Caregiving. Full methodology in economic impact brief.

* Composite model figure

The Category Redefinition

This is not a benefits problem. It is a workforce infrastructure problem.

A decade ago, mental health support was a niche benefit at progressive employers. Today it is table stakes. Eldercare is at that same inflection point — and the employers who act first will carry a meaningful competitive advantage in retention, productivity, and workforce stability.

"Eldercare is not a fringe case issue. It is a persistent, widening condition that shows up every day in your attendance data, your productivity metrics, your voluntary turnover, and your healthcare costs."

— CareNgen Category POV

The Business Case

The cost is already running.
It just isn't being measured.

Whether organizations act or not, the financial impact of eldercare is already embedded across four measurable cost categories. The only variable is whether it is being managed — or absorbed invisibly.

Productivity Loss

Caregiving employees operate at 15–25% diminished capacity while at work — from fragmented attention and unresolved care decisions.

~$16,000

per caregiver / year

Absenteeism

Caregiving employees miss an average of 6–10 additional workdays per year, often unplanned and difficult to backfill.

~$3,200

per caregiver / year

Attrition Risk

Caregivers are 1.5–2× more likely to leave their roles. Many are mid-career and senior contributors whose knowledge is expensive to replace.

50–100%

of annual salary to replace

Healthcare Costs

Caregiver stress drives higher rates of chronic illness, delayed personal care, and emergency utilization.

+8%

incremental per caregiver

ANNUAL COST IMPACT — 5,000-PERSON EMPLOYER

~$23.4M

This is not theoretical. It is present in your workforce today, distributed across HR, finance, and operations — which is precisely why it persists unaddressed.

Why the Status Quo Falls Short

Good intentions.
Structurally insufficient.

Most organizations have attempted to address caregiving through existing benefit structures. These efforts share a consistent gap: they do not reduce decision friction — and that is the core driver of workforce disruption.

EAPs

Designed for crisis triage, not navigation

Employee Assistance Programs are built for short-term counseling. The caregiving journey spans years and dozens of interdependent decisions. EAPs provide a referral list. They do not provide navigation.

Resource Libraries

Information without guidance adds cognitive burden

Handing an overwhelmed employee a directory of eldercare providers does not reduce their cognitive load — it adds to it. The challenge is not a lack of resources. It is not knowing which resource applies to their specific situation.

Concierge Services

Valuable for executives. Unscalable for workforces.

Premium eldercare concierge services exist and can be effective — at $500–$2,000 per engagement, they are economically unsustainable as a workforce-wide benefit. The result is a two-tier system.

The CareNgen Platform

Built for the long arc.
Not the crisis moment.

CareNgen is an AI-powered eldercare navigation and decision support platform designed for employers. We close the gap between what organizations currently offer and what caregiving employees actually need — at scale, equitably, across the full workforce.

Where CareNgen Meets Employees

Employees facing an immediate care crisis

Hospitalization, sudden cognitive decline, or an unsafe functional change at home. CareNgen provides same-day guidance — not a three-day EAP callback window.

Employees planning ahead for an aging parent

Understanding care needs, preparing legal and financial documents, and anticipating what comes next — before the crisis forces reactive decisions.

Employees managing long-term care coordination

Navigating providers, coordinating family communication, managing care transitions across a multi-year caregiving journey.

Employees supporting family members from a distance

Remote caregiving introduces its own complexity. CareNgen provides localized guidance for employees managing care across states or regions.

The employers who act first will carry the advantage.

Mental health parity, parental leave, fertility support — each followed the same arc. Niche at progressive employers. Standard at competitive ones. Table stakes everywhere else. Eldercare is at that inflection point. The window to lead the category is now.

Implementation

Operational in six weeks. Not eighteen months.

Building an internal eldercare navigation capability takes 18–36 months and requires expertise most HR teams don’t have. CareNgen deploys in six weeks, with no complex rollout and no disruption to existing benefit infrastructure.

Weeks 1–2

Workforce Assessment

We model your organization’s caregiving prevalence, identify highest-risk employee segments, and establish baseline metrics.

Weeks 1–2

Platform Configuration

We model your organization’s caregiving prevalence, identify highest-risk employee segments, and establish baseline metrics.

Weeks 1–2

Employee Rollout

We model your organization’s caregiving prevalence, identify highest-risk employee segments, and establish baseline metrics.

Weeks 1–2

Outcomes Reporting

We model your organization’s caregiving prevalence, identify highest-risk employee segments, and establish baseline metrics.

The Decision Framework

Build vs. Buy vs. Ignore. An honest look at all three.

We have mapped all three paths — including where each works, where each fails, and what each actually costs. Designed for HR leaders who need to bring a recommendation to leadership.

Criteria	Build	Ignore	Buy
Time to Value	18–36 mo.	Running now	6 weeks
Domain Expertise	Must hire	N/A	Provided
ROI Visibility	Low	None	High
HR Burden	High	Low absorbed	Low
Workforce Equity	Tiered risk	Universal gap	Equitable

Ready to Act

The question isn't whether this affects your workforce. It's whether you choose to manage it.

The cost of unmanaged eldercare is already present in your data — in turnover rates, absenteeism trends, and healthcare spend. CareNgen makes it visible, manageable, and measurable.

Eldercare Is Now a Core HR Problem. Most Employers Don't Know It Yet.

$16M

$3.2M

$3M

$1.2M

~$23.4M

$4,680

This is not a benefits problem. It is a workforce infrastructure problem.

"Eldercare is not a fringe case issue. It is a persistent, widening condition that shows up every day in your attendance data, your productivity metrics, your voluntary turnover, and your healthcare costs."

The cost is already running.
It just isn't being measured.

Productivity Loss

~$16,000

Absenteeism

~$3,200

Attrition Risk

50–100%

Healthcare Costs

+8%

~$23.4M

Good intentions.
Structurally insufficient.

Designed for crisis triage, not navigation

Information without guidance adds cognitive burden

Valuable for executives. Unscalable for workforces.

Built for the long arc.
Not the crisis moment.

Personalized Navigation

Vetted Local Provider Networks

Family Coordination Tools

Measurable Workforce Outcomes

Employees facing an immediate care crisis

Employees planning ahead for an aging parent

Employees managing long-term care coordination

Employees supporting family members from a distance

The employers who act first will carry the advantage.

Operational in six weeks. Not eighteen months.

Workforce Assessment

Platform Configuration

Employee Rollout

Outcomes Reporting

Build vs. Buy vs. Ignore. An honest look at all three.

The question isn't whether this affects your workforce. It's whether you choose to manage it.

Eldercare Is Now a Core HR Problem. Most Employers Don't Know It Yet.

$16M

$3.2M

$3M

$1.2M

~$23.4M

$4,680

This is not a benefits problem. It is a workforce infrastructure problem.

"Eldercare is not a fringe case issue. It is a persistent, widening condition that shows up every day in your attendance data, your productivity metrics, your voluntary turnover, and your healthcare costs."

The cost is already running. It just isn't being measured.

Productivity Loss

~$16,000

Absenteeism

~$3,200

Attrition Risk

50–100%

Healthcare Costs

+8%

~$23.4M

Good intentions. Structurally insufficient.

Designed for crisis triage, not navigation

Information without guidance adds cognitive burden

Valuable for executives. Unscalable for workforces.

Built for the long arc. Not the crisis moment.

Personalized Navigation

Vetted Local Provider Networks

Family Coordination Tools

Measurable Workforce Outcomes

Employees facing an immediate care crisis

Employees planning ahead for an aging parent

Employees managing long-term care coordination

Employees supporting family members from a distance

The employers who act first will carry the advantage.

Operational in six weeks. Not eighteen months.

Workforce Assessment

Platform Configuration

Employee Rollout

Outcomes Reporting

Build vs. Buy vs. Ignore. An honest look at all three.

The question isn't whether this affects your workforce. It's whether you choose to manage it.

The cost is already running.
It just isn't being measured.

Good intentions.
Structurally insufficient.

Built for the long arc.
Not the crisis moment.