We Can No Longer Ignore The Value Of Caregiving

Forbes

01-05-2025

Every day, millions of Americans wake up to a second full-time job—a job they never applied for, never trained for, and receive no compensation for. While the role is rewarding in many ways, it grows more demanding by the day, often resulting in great personal and financial sacrifice.
Featured caregiver is a paid collaborator of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
The conditions are ripe for burnout, with countless reports of depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms that manifest from chronic stress. As unbelievable as this job may seem, it's a reality for our country's 45 million unpaid caregivers. Despite their essential role in caring for their loved ones, they remain largely unseen. The sacrifices caregivers make are too often overlooked, leaving them without adequate training, financial support, or workplace protections that truly reflect their reality. But the longer we undervalue caregivers, the more the strain on all of us will continue.
Caregivers carry an immense responsibility, one that they should never have to shoulder alone. And yet, our healthcare system rarely offers another choice. It's devastating that even one caregiver should go without support, but the reality is so much worse. The failure to support caregivers ripples from individuals to communities, threatening the stability of our workforce, healthcare system, and economy.
As more caregivers are forced to leave their jobs or reduce their hours to care for their loved ones, businesses may face more turnover and less productivity. As more caregivers rely on their retirement funds, public assistance programs may face greater strain. And as caregivers' declining mental and physical health leads to increased medical needs, the overwhelmed facilities and uncompensated care costs could continue to burden a healthcare system that's already stretched thin.
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Without more interventions, we may risk a future in which an aging population collides with an unsupported, unsustainable caregiving system—leaving families, businesses, and our government struggling to keep up.
As a healthcare company, Otsuka is in constant dialogue with the patients and caregivers that we serve. Recently, our conversations with caregivers have found recurring themes: a lack of assistance, a lack of understanding by employers, and, despite the abundance of caregivers, a surprising lack of societal awareness for their struggles. To better understand the scale of this inequity and communicate it to our industry peers, we collaborated with Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health to conduct a study of the current caregiver landscape. I expected the findings to be compelling, but they turned out to be staggering.
The report 'America's Unseen Workforce,' released in October 2024, revealed that 44.58 million US caregivers perform the equivalent of $873.5 billion worth of unpaid labor each year. That's $873,500,000,000. If family caregiving were a business entity, it would be the largest revenue-generating business in the world. But this 'company' isn't met with the excitement of an IPO or the urgency of a crashing stock—it's met with a shrug from those with the power to effectuate meaningful change.
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Note: All company figures are as of June 30, 2024. These numbers will vary due to shifts in current market value.
The $873.5 billion figure demonstrates the magnitude of family caregiving, but the impact on individuals is also felt in real dollars. The report found that caregivers who begin their duties at a younger age are at risk of facing a 40% to 90% deficit in retirement savings by age 65 compared to non-caregivers, requiring an additional 7 to 21 years of work to recoup the equivalent savings. Our report also found that caregiving-induced declines in health contribute an estimated $28.3 billion annually in healthcare costs. With our country's aging population, these costs are only going to increase. Homeownership and retirement may be out of reach for many, and the dip in consumer spending could impact entire industries.
Despite the undeniable financial value that caregivers provide, protections that recognize their sacrifices are often absent from corporate benefits structures and national economic policies. Employers have the power—and the responsibility—to reshape how caregiving fits into the modern workplace. Comprehensive caregiver benefits, like flexible work arrangements, paid caregiver leave, and tailored mental health and financial planning resources, are essential. At Otsuka, we view these as investments not only in our employees but in our company's and society's futures. That's why we integrate our Caregiver Navigator program directly into our benefits structure—to ensure employees don't have to navigate these challenges alone—providing personalized care, emotional support, expert content, and local resources. It's our firm belief that the organizations that ignore these issues will be the first to fall behind.
That said, this goes far beyond work. Our national and state governments have a critical responsibility to aid caregivers and incentivize other sectors to do the same. Expanding caregiver tax credits and prioritizing payment, training, respite care, and health benefits programs would provide much-needed financial relief and contribute to more systemic change.
Featured caregiver is a paid collaborator of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
At Otsuka, we believe that standing with caregivers isn't just the right thing to do—it's an economic and social imperative. Otsuka's commitment goes beyond our workforce, and it should go beyond yours, too. In addition to our caregiver benefits program in collaboration with ianacare and continued caregiver advocacy, we're the lead, founding sponsor of Caregiving, a two-hour documentary for PBS portraying paid and unpaid caregivers navigating the challenges and joys of this deeply meaningful work. Intertwining intimate personal stories with the untold history of caregiving, the documentary reveals the state and the stakes of care in America today. The project, created with executive producer Bradley Cooper, premieres June 24 on PBS and is available to stream on May 27 on PBS.org and the PBS App. It is the next feature film from the WETA award-winning Well Beings campaign, which addresses critical health needs in America.
This is more than an economic or political crisis—it's a human one. At some point, many of us will become caregivers—or rely on one to care for us. Businesses, policymakers, and individuals all have a role to play in ensuring that caregivers are not just seen but valued. We have a choice: Continue to let their contributions go unnoticed or recognize family caregiving as the essential work that it is. Allow millions to struggle in silence or step up and create a future where caregivers and their loved ones are not left behind. The question is: Will we create a society that tangibly supports caregivers or will we take them for granted?
Now is the time to act. I invite my fellow business leaders to join Otsuka in building a future where caregivers are seen, supported, and valued.
Discover our caregiver commitment.
Otsuka is a healthcare company driven by our purpose and defined by our beliefs. At Otsuka, we hold a deep respect for the value of every mind. We are dedicated to caring for caregivers—standing with them, the way they stand with their loved ones—and offering resources that may support their care for themselves and others. As we work to understand and share the stories of caregivers and support them on their journeys, we will continue advocating and calling for industry changes to improve their and their loved ones' quality of life.
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