We are all caregivers in waiting

Rosalynn Carter famously said, “There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.”

Her words capture a universal truth. Caregiving is an inevitable part of life; in essence, we are all “caregivers in waiting.”

But if this experience is so common, why does it so often feel like a crisis?

The problem often starts with identity. Many people don’t use the word “caregiver” to describe themselves—they’re just being a good son, daughter, partner, or parent. They don’t realize the full scope of what “caregiving” includes, such as:

• Helping parents pay bills, schedule doctors’ appointments, or manage medications
• Coordinating with school specialists for a child’s IEP or behavioral health needs
• Supporting a partner or sibling through a chronic illness
• And more

(Want to learn more about what caregivers do and whether you’re one too? Take our quiz to find out.)

Because they don’t identify with the term, they manage the stress and logistics in silence, trying to juggle it all with their full-time work. They may not ask for help until they are deep in the trenches—managing a parent’s post-op recovery or navigating a new diagnosis for a child.

Even employees who aren’t active caregivers right now may exist in a state of uncertainty that still impacts their lives and work. This “waiting” period isn’t passive; it’s an active, underlying stressor that can take several forms:

• Waiting for the inevitable: This is the general, long-term awareness that aging parents or relatives will likely need support. It’s a low-level, background anxiety about when that shift will happen and what responsibilities it will entail, from financial management to hands-on health assistance.
• Waiting for the sudden crisis: This is the reality that the “waiting” can end in an instant. A single phone call about a sudden diagnosis, a bad fall, or a serious accident can immediately thrust an employee into a demanding, high-stress caregiving role with no time to prepare.
• Waiting for the next emergency: For those who are already providing light or long-distance support, they are often waiting for the next thing to go wrong. They live in a reactive state, anticipating the next urgent call, trip to the ER, or logistical crisis they will need to manage.
• Waiting in the “gap”: This describes the period after a diagnosis but before the full weight of care is needed. The employee is “waiting” for a condition to progress or for their loved one’s needs to escalate, all while trying to navigate complex medical and legal systems in anticipation of what’s to come.

The power of proactive employer support

Support for caregivers shouldn’t start after a crisis, when an employee is already burned out, needs to take a leave, or is struggling to manage a return to work. If your organization doesn’t have a plan for its caregiving employees, you are likely already feeling the downstream effects: burnout, absenteeism, and turnover.

Here’s how to address the problem proactively.

1. Manage today’s needs. Those “small” caregiving tasks—the research, the phone calls, the appointment-juggling—add up. Whether it’s finding a pediatrician, vetting a daycare, researching elder care facilities, or navigating school paperwork, these tasks are a significant source of daily stress and presenteeism. Providing a resource to help manage these logistics isn’t a luxury; it’s a vital tool for maintaining employee well-being and productivity.

2. Prepare for what’s next. More importantly, proactive support is about preparing for the next stage or the unexpected. When a crisis does hit—a child’s sudden diagnosis, a last-minute childcare gap, or a parent’s fall—families are often forced to make emotional, financial, and logistical decisions under immense pressure.

Proactive support means helping employees:

• Navigate legal and financial planning: This could mean creating a will and naming a guardian for children, setting up a 529 plan or special needs trust, or establishing power of attorney and advance directives for an aging loved one.
• Understand care and educational options: This includes finding the right daycare, navigating the special education (IEP) process, or understanding options for senior living and in-home health aides.
• Plan for major life transitions: This could be planning for parental leave and a smooth return to work, advocating for a child’s needs at school, or having difficult but necessary conversations about long-term care preferences with family.

Don’t wait for the crisis

By providing holistic, proactive support, employers can empower their all “caregivers-in-waiting” to manage the “now” and prepare for the “next.” This is the key to building a truly resilient workforce that feels supported through every stage of life.