11-01-2023
Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980, is hitting mid-life. Many of its members are caring for aging relatives, raising children, and managing their own health challenges. Some companies recognize these issues and are taking steps to support these employees.
Salesforce launched an eldercare benefit for employees caring for older relatives and offers cancer-related early detection offerings for employees over 50. Adobe provides support for employees with kids seeking college admission in addition to elder care support. Cisco includes a concierge care benefit to support caregiving for aging relatives, a child with special needs, and assisting a partner with a new medical diagnosis. A BBC article notes employers recognize these tailored measures are cost-effective and can impact employee retention and performance. Employers know how distracting these issues can be and want to enable employees to be more focused at work, which benefits everyone. It also allows employers to be more strategic in allocating resources at a time of economic uncertainty.
As pointed out in the article, many workplaces now have four generations in the workplace. Gen Z and Millennial employees likely appreciate student loan assistance, mental health support, and fertility and caregiving benefits. At the same time, Gen X women may welcome the menopausal support that some companies make available to their employees. Offering menopause benefits is relatively new, but menopause results in lost work time for employees and employers, according to a Mayo Clinic survey. Genentech (a biotech company) offers menopause-specific care in response to a request from an employee group. This care includes video appointments with clinicians and classes on managing symptoms. The company's employees are 54% women and are 45 years old on average.