Work as we knew it shifted in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated hybrid models, redefining boundaries and blurring the lines between personal and professional life. This change brought to light a stark reality – the reality that employees don’t operate in isolation; their personal responsibilities move with them. The post-pandemic return to work has only intensified this need. As employees juggle professional demands alongside caring for ageing loved ones, caregiving has evolved into a tangible workplace issue; one that data and lived experiences now consistently validate.
Across organizations, caregiving is no longer an invisible, individual struggle—it is emerging as a shared workplace reality. Behind every working professional is a life that rarely makes it into performance conversations. In India, 79% of employees spend five or more hours each week caring for loved ones, quietly balancing work with the emotional and physical weight of supporting both younger and older family members. India Inc goes the extra mile to share caregivers’ load.
Increasingly, companies are offering resources that extend beyond work, creating spaces where employees can navigate caregiving challenges and share lived experiences. Avtar & Seramount’s BCWI 2025 study shows that India Inc is beginning to respond. Onsite childcare support has risen from 26% to 62% over the past decade; a clear sign that progressive organizations are rethinking the workplace to better support, attract, and retain high-impact talent.
Caregiving at work has largely centered on parental support, driving meaningful progress for new parents. But caregiving doesn’t end there. Responsibilities toward ageing parents and extended family are just as demanding. As this reality becomes harder to ignore, workplaces are beginning to evolve bringing new trends in caregiver support into focus.
Flexibility as a core policy
Flexibility is evolving from an ad hoc accommodation to a formally embedded workplace strategy. Organizations are institutionalizing hybrid models, flexible hours, part-time pathways, and role redesign to support caregivers without penalizing performance. There is a growing shift toward outcome-based evaluation, reducing reliance on visibility and presenteeism. Some companies are also introducing “care-responsive scheduling,” allowing employees to align work hours with caregiving demands. This structured approach ensures that flexibility is equitable, scalable, and sustainable enabling caregivers to remain productive while managing responsibilities beyond work.
Caregiver ERGs
For many employees, especially those supporting ageing parents or loved ones with complex needs, the return to work intensified an already delicate balance between professional and personal responsibilities.
In response, organizations are beginning to create spaces where these realities are acknowledged, not hidden. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), particularly those focused on caregiving, are emerging as quiet but powerful enablers—offering employees a place to share experiences, seek support, and navigate challenges that often go unseen.
Because caregiving can be deeply isolating. What ERGs do is simple, yet significant—they remind employees they are not alone. The colleague sitting a few desks away may be navigating a similar journey like caring for a parent, supporting a partner, holding together responsibilities that extend far beyond work.
Alongside formal policies and benefits, these shared spaces are reshaping workplace culture—making it more human, more empathetic, and more responsive to the realities employees live every day.
Manager sensitization and bias reduction
Organizations are increasingly recognizing that policies don’t create inclusion, managers do. The real experience of a caregiver is shaped in everyday conversations, decisions, and unspoken expectations. This has led to a sharper focus on building managerial capability – training leaders to respond with empathy, recognize caregiving realities, and actively counter proximity and performance bias. It’s about shifting mindsets from questioning commitment to understanding context. When managers are equipped to lead with awareness and trust, they don’t just retain talent they protect dignity, sustain performance, and ensure that no employee is quietly penalized for showing up where they are needed most.
Key Takeaways
Caregiving is not a distraction from work, it is a part of life employees carry with them. Organizations that recognize this build trust and psychologically safe workplaces. And in doing so, they don’t just retain talent they create workplaces where people can show up fully, without having to choose what matters most.
