Betterworks' benefits and culture help this leader manage dual caregiving roles

• Key insight: Learn how integrated flexibility and benefits sustain employee productivity amid escalating caregiving responsibilities.
• What's at stake: Failure to support employees during hard times risks engagement, retention, and post-crisis performance declines.
• Expert quote: Collins - organizational empathy functions as a strategic asset for sustaining caregiver employees.
  Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Caitlin Collins, an organizational psychologist and program strategy director at performance management platform Betterworks, was already a caregiver to her grandmother when her father suffered a devastating accident that would leave him paralyzed. As her caregiving duties doubled overnight, her employer's benefits and supportive culture made it possible for her to keep working and be present for her family. 

Collins had had no trouble balancing her work with caring for her 90-year-old grandmother, who moved in with her almost three years ago. It was a welcome opportunity to "love on and care for her," she said of sharing her Ohio home. But in December 2024, her father, who lives in California, was hit by a car. Over the next seven months he spent in the hospital and since his release, she's flown back and forth to visit her father, now a quadriplegic, providing support with everything from comfort to rehab placement to navigating insurance issues.       

"Traveling to help my mom and be there with my dad through every unimaginable thing — either locally in California or far away — it has been a hard year and a half," Collins said. At home, she helps her grandmother with tasks such as managing doctor's appointments and finances, finding social activities, and working with her on end-of-life planning. She loves being able to help her grandmother in this way, she said, but it requires more time than expected — which is why things like flexibility and compassionate leadership are so valuable.  

"I would not be nearly as successful in balancing all the things that have fallen on my plate if it wasn't for the flexibility that Betterworks gives me, letting me work wherever and make my own schedule. It's their trust in me, but more than that, it's the empathetic view they have to let me [ask for] what I need workwise if I have too much on my plate. Everyone will bend over backwards to help," Collins said.  

Read more:  A comprehensive checklist to boost caregiving support for employees

Benefits that bring peace of mind

Benefits — such as mental and financial wellness offerings and caregiving management platforms — can help employees deal with the emotional, economic and organizational strain that the role can bring. They can also help workers put plans in place that protect those they care for should something render them incapable. It's like a reversal of typical estate planning, Collins said — a way to make sure an older loved one is looked after no matter what.

"Through our benefits, I have made sure that my will and life insurance are updated with provisions in place so that if something were to happen to me, either I pass away or was incapacitated, there's a plan in place to make sure my grandmother is taken care of," said Collins.

Read more:  Most US workers hide caregiving duties from HR

The value of a compassionate culture

For Collins, intentional communication from her team rounds out the benefits and policies that have made it possible to care for her family while continuing to work.  

"Across the board, each of my executive leaders and different colleagues and managers show support in different ways. Even the smallest thing — a Slack message, for example — can have a strong impact. It's such a beautiful moment in the middle of so much hard. There were days where I would just start crying in the middle of my work, tears would fall, and everybody understood. They just let me move forward at my own pace, or talk about whatever it was, or ask questions — nothing was off limits for me and I was really transparent about that."   

A year after Collins' father's injury, he had defied doctor's expectations, breathing without the use of a ventilator and adapting to a wheelchair that he can operate with his chin. He's even returned as a volunteer to the high school where he coached football before the accident, continuing to teach and mentor his players. It's given her family reason to celebrate, Collins said. 

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At the same time, she knows her daily caregiving responsibilities will increase as her grandmother ages, but that the support she has through Betterworks will make this manageable, too. When employers don't ignore hardships employees face, but instead give them security through support, the return is massive, Collins explained.    

"It takes a village to navigate some of these things, and there's no one size fits all," she said. "Our goal as organizations should be to make sure that our employees have the opportunity to show up even when it's hard in the best way possible. It creates higher engagement, loyalty, better productivity and performance after they get past whatever those issues are."