Research & Sources
Every statistic cited on this site links back to its primary source. HR and CHRO buyers verify numbers, so we want the receipts a click away. If you spot a figure on the site without a corresponding entry here, pleaselet us know.
The MetLife Study of Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers
MetLife Mature Market Institute, in collaboration with the National Alliance for Caregiving and the Center for Long Term Care Research and Policy at NYMC · 2011
Landmark study quantifying the productivity losses U.S. employers absorb from employees managing eldercare responsibilities, including the frequently-cited $33.6 billion annual figure and the finding that roughly 1 in 6 U.S. workers spends 20+ hours per week providing care.
Cited on CarePath for: Hero stat #1 ($33.6B productivity loss) and Crisis card #2 (1 in 6 employees, 20+ hrs/week).
View source →Employer Caregiving Support Survey
Sparrow · 2023
Survey of U.S. employees with active caregiving responsibilities examining what they disclose to HR and managers. Found that only a small minority feel comfortable telling their employer about the caregiving load they carry outside of work.
Cited on CarePath for: Hero stat #2 (only 8% comfortable telling HR).
View source →The Caring Company: How Employers Can Cut Costs and Boost Productivity by Helping Employees Manage Caregiving Needs
Harvard Business School — Joseph B. Fuller & Manjari Raman · 2019
Foundational HBS research showing 73% of U.S. employees carry some form of caregiving responsibility and that 32% of working caregivers have left a job because of the demands of care. Documents the systematic underestimation of caregiving impact by employers.
Cited on CarePath for: Hero subheadline (73% caring for someone) and Crisis card #1 (32% have left a job).
View source →MetLife Study of Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers — Lifetime Impact
MetLife Mature Market Institute · 2011
Companion analysis calculating the lifetime cost to an individual who reduces work hours or leaves the workforce to provide eldercare — approximately $303,880 per person in lost wages, Social Security benefits, and pension contributions.
Cited on CarePath for: Crisis card #1 ($303,880 average lifetime cost).
View source →Working While Caring: A National Survey of Caregiver Stress in the U.S. Workforce
Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, in partnership with The Harris Poll · 2021
National survey documenting the perception gap between working caregivers and their employers: 80% of caregiving employees report their responsibilities affect their work, while only about a quarter of employers believe caregiving has any measurable productivity impact.
Cited on CarePath for: Crisis card #2 (80% employees vs. 25% employers perception gap).
View source →A note on methodology
Where multiple credible surveys report a similar figure, we cite the most methodologically transparent public source. Composite illustrative quotes used elsewhere on the site are labeled as such and are not statements from identified individuals.