Every HR leader and broker knows the routine: an employee hits a breaking point, files for FMLA, and suddenly a team is short-staffed for 12 weeks or more. Whether it’s the stress of caring for a parent, a last-minute child care breakdown, or caregiver burnout that no one saw coming, the result is the same: another leave claim. More disruption. More cost.
But what if that leave could’ve been avoided?
Care benefits are a powerful strategy to intercept leave before it’s filed. And while they’re often lumped into wellness programs, they deserve a much bigger role. They help solve business-critical problems like absenteeism, burnout, and ballooning leave claims.
FMLA claims aren’t always about illness; they’re sometimes about caregiving
It’s easy to think of FMLA as a tool for medical leave. But behind many of today’s claims is something less clinical and more universal: caregiving.
- A parent whose child care arrangements just got more complicated
- An employee trying to manage their elderly dad’s discharge from the hospital
- A working mom whose summer care options dried up
- An employee who simply can’t keep juggling it all
When employees are overwhelmed by caregiving responsibilities (with no support in sight) FMLA feels like the only option. And once that claim is in motion, you’re on the hook for job protection and sometimes, through state-mandated PPL programs, wage replacement.
That’s where care benefits come in.
Care needs don’t always look like emergencies, until they are
FMLA leave isn’t always the result of a medical diagnosis. Often, it starts with an unmet care need that snowballs. A divorce and child care breakdown turns into missed work. A parent’s diagnosis leads to 24/7 caregiving. A mental health spiral.
These are the moments when employees step away because they feel they have no other option. But Care for Business can help employers step in before it gets to that point, with benefits that span four key areas where life most often interrupts work:
Child care
When child care falls apart, so does an employee’s ability to stay at work. A Care.com Membership helps prevent extended absences by providing access to nannies, sitters, daycare centers, and even tutors.
Our Backup Care program ensures there’s always a plan B, so parents don’t feel like their only option is leave.
Senior care
Employees caring for aging parents are increasingly at risk for burnout and unplanned leave. In addition to care for kids, a Care.com Membership could give your employees access to caregivers for aging relatives, as well as disabled and neurodiverse adults.
Additionally, our Care Specialists connect your team members to resources like in-home aides, memory care, and adult day programs (plus help navigating Medicare and long-term care planning) so they’re not forced to take FMLA just to manage logistics.
Self care
Stress, anxiety, and burnout are major drivers of leave, especially when caregiving responsibilities pile up. In fact, according to our 2025 Future of Benefits Report, 78% of employees say balancing work and caregiving affects stress levels at work.
We help employees access resources for emotional wellness and tools designed to ease the mental load before it becomes a crisis.
The right support can prevent unnecessary leave
When an employee is on the edge of filing for leave, a concierge-style service like Care Specialists can make all the difference. Imagine if, instead of a leave request, that employee picked up the phone and got:
- A list of nearby adult day programs for their aging parent
- Immediate backup care for a child whose caregiver is sick
- Help finding mental health care either for themselves or loved ones
- Assistance locating long-term nannies, sitters, or tutors to stabilize unpredictable home schedules
- Support during high-stress life transitions like divorce, bereavement, relocation, and more
Care benefits offer real-time, human support that helps employees find solutions, fast. And that’s often enough to keep them working, engaged, and supported instead of filing for leave.
Why this matters more now: state leave laws are expanding
More states are enacting Paid Family Leave (PFL) programs, and they’re applying them to smaller and smaller employers.
What used to be optional is quickly becoming mandated:
- State taxes fund wage replacement
- Employers must manage claims, coordinate policies, and keep teams running
- Minimum leave entitlements are rising
That makes every FMLA or PFL claim more expensive and harder to manage.
And while many employers are eager to support working parents, the reality is: once you’re already paying for statutory parental leave, offering additional child care support can feel redundant, unless it clearly reduces other risks.
But care benefits solve the urgent problems that lead to leave. They’re a practical, proactive way to:
- Reduce FMLA and paid leave claims
- Shorten the duration of leaves that do happen
- Support employees through major life events
- Keep teams staffed and productive
- Avoid burnout-driven turnover
Bottom line: If you’re managing leave, you should be offering care
FMLA and PFL will always be necessary for some employees. But the real opportunity is upstream: preventing leave where you can and supporting it better when you can’t. Care benefits help employers do both.
If you’re ready to reduce claims, retain talent, and support your teams more effectively, it’s time to rethink care: not as a perk, but as a powerful part of your leave strategy.
