According to a recent Gallup report, only 33% of U.S. employees were engaged at work in 2023. That’s a drop from a 40% peak in 2020. Employee engagement is directly linked to performance outcomes with disengaged employees accounting for approximately $1.9 trillion in annual lost productivity nationally.

Given the recent decline in employee engagement, more employers are turning to benefits like back-up care to help solve unexpected work/life challenges that adversely impact workforce performance. Feedback from user surveys illustrates just how impactful back-up care is for employees. According to the results, back-up care:

• Reduced stress levels in 93% of users
• Enhanced productivity for 90% of users
• Enabled 87% to work a day they would otherwise have missed

While back-up care is obviously beneficial to employees, it can also drive better outcomes for organizations. For instance, 87% of users said that back-up care made them more committed to their employer. Here are five reasons why back-up care is a win-win for both employees and employers.

Back-up care helps leading employers:

1. Assure operations aren’t interrupted: From manufacturing to shipping to food preparation, organizational operations often must meet tight schedules. At Weill Cornell, that includes surgical operations. When healthcare employees need last-minute, in-home care to keep scheduled surgeries running on time, they turn to back-up care. And it’s not just for essential workers – countless other employees rely on the benefit to avoid work/life disruptions.
2. Attract and retain skilled workers: Having back-up care allows The Boyd Group, parent company of Gerber Collision & Glass, to recruit and retain its uniquely skilled workforce by offering caregivers a way to address unexpected work/life conflicts. Most care requests are resolved quickly, allowing employees to show up for their shifts on time. Back-up care is a major selling point for the company when pitching potential recruits, as well as a unique value proposition enticing current talent to stay.
3. Reducing “no-shows” and giving employees peace of mind: Unforeseen problems or emergency situations can cause “no-show” disruptions for organizations. As a leading developer of pharmaceutical innovations, Sanofi views every workday as critical to the advancement of its life-saving breakthroughs. With back-up care from Bright Horizons, Sanofi saved over 2,500 workdays last year, ensuring employees had the care and peace of mind needed to produce at a high level.
4. Solve multiple work/life challenges: The scope of back-up care extends well beyond early childhood care. Companies looking to support caregiver challenges across life stages rely on the benefit as an efficient way to provide tutoring and college coaching for older children, care for elderly parents or ill family members, find camps for students during school vacations, and even manage pet sitting. Employees at Allston & Bird say back-up care and the wide-ranging support it provides helps them stay focused on their day-to-day work, knowing their loved ones are being looked after.
5. Open opportunities for new candidates: As if college life isn’t hectic enough, adding children to the mix can make it overwhelming. Recognizing that more and more students who are pursuing advanced degrees come with parental responsibilities, the University of California, Berkley has expanded its existing child care back-up program to include undergraduate and graduate students. The program allows students with children to efficiently manage their child care needs and more fully participate in the university experience, giving them time to prepare for exams, participate in evening study groups, or attend classes when their regular child care support is unavailable.

Learn more about how Bright Horizons Back-Up Care can help your employees navigate their biggest work/life challenges and maximize their engagement and productivity.