Benefits That Matter for a Workforce That Gives So Much
The direct care workforce is overwhelmingly female — an estimated 84-91% of direct care workers are women, including 87.3% of RNs, 86.9% of nursing assistants, and 86.1% of home health aides. These are people balancing demanding caregiving jobs with raising children, caring for aging parents, and their own financial and physical wellbeing. A modern benefits strategy should reflect that reality.
Source: BLS Current Population Survey, Table 11, 2025; PHI National, Sept 2025.
Pregnancy Support
Maternal care, family planning, fertility navigation, NICU support, breastfeeding resources, and parental leave coordination all help caregivers stay in the workforce through major life transitions.
- 47% of large employers cover IVF (up from 45%); 70% of the largest employers do (up from 62%). Egg freezing is covered by 21%, sperm freezing by 20%.
- 42% of employers overall offer fertility benefits, up from 40% in 2022 and 30% in 2020; paid adoption leave is offered by 37%, up from 27% in 2020.
- Onsite or paid lactation support is offered by 73% of employers in 2024, up from 54% in 2023. Paid parental leave has grown from 33% (2022) to 40% (2024).
- Doula coverage is still limited — only 23% of large employers cover doulas, midwives, or birthing centers as of 2024, though it's a growing benefit.
Sources: Mercer newsroom, 2024; IFEBP via SHRM, 2024; SHRM Employee Benefits Surveys; Business Group on Health, 2023.
Mental Health Support
Anxiety, burnout, depression, compassion fatigue, and caregiver stress are consistently documented across the caregiving workforce. EAPs, teletherapy, and digital mental health tools give employees a private, low-friction way to get support.
- 46% of health workers reported burnout "often" or "very often" in 2022, up from 32% in 2018.
- 90% of employers offered mental health coverage in 2024, up from 84% in 2019; 81% offered an EAP in 2023.
Sources: CDC Vital Signs, Oct 2023; SHRM Employee Benefits Survey data.
Menopause Support
Menopause affects sleep, stress, and day-to-day performance for a large share of this workforce, yet it's one of the least-addressed benefit categories.
- 18% of employers plan to offer menopause resources in 2025, up sharply from just 4% in 2023.
- Only about 5% of employers currently offer menopause-specific benefits, though 17% offer related counseling or education.
Sources: Mercer, Survey on Health & Benefit Strategies for 2025; SHRM 2024 Employee Benefits Survey.
Caregiver Support
Many employees are caring for children, aging parents, or grandparents at the same time they're caring for residents and patients at work. Backup care and navigation services help them show up reliably without burning out.
- 29% of family caregivers nationally are "sandwich generation" — caring for both kids and aging parents at once; that rises to 47% among caregivers under 50.
- Backup care is offered by roughly 26% of employers with 500-5,000 employees, compared with about 37% of employers with 5,000+ employees.
Sources: AARP/National Alliance for Caregiving, "Caregiving in the US 2025," July 2025; Mercer data, 2025.
GLP-1 & Weight Health
Obesity is increasingly treated as a chronic condition, and GLP-1 medications are reshaping employer pharmacy costs. This is a big enough topic for its own deep dive.
Not sure which of these fit your current plan?
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