As Asia-Pacific ages and more employees become caregivers, a talent exodus could be in the offing, says a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey, as employees balance their act between being caregivers and productive workforce members.

And this would cost companies and drain national coffers, it adds. The report said up to $250 billion in GDP could be in jeopardy across six Asia-Pacific countries by 2035, from this demographic trend.

“As Asia-Pacific ages, more employees will become caregivers. Some will be dual caregivers, tending to both elders and children. Managing the responsibilities of caregiving and employment requires time, flexibility, and energy, and affects well-being both at home and at work,” the report said, cautioning that a talent exodus could ensue from this situation.

BCG’s Diversity and Inclusion Assessment for Leadership survey, conducted in 2022, covered 9,000-odd employees of midsize to large companies in six Asia-Pacific countries (Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Singapore). The sample was balanced across gender and seniority at work, it said.

More than half the employees in the sample identify as caregivers outside their paid employment, labelled here as “employee-caregivers”  to reflect dual responsibilities.

“The number of employee-caregivers is set to increase dramatically. The statistics paint a picture of a potential caregiving—and economic—crisis for Asia-Pacific,” it said.

Leaving the workforce

Across the regions studied, employee-caregivers will grow by 100 million to 1.2 billion in 2035. The employee-caregivers surveyed reported lower feelings of well-being. And with no new support to improve employee-caregivers’ well-being and ability to care for dependents, the labour market in Asia-Pacific could see increased numbers of caregivers leaving the workforce. it cautioned.

The upcoming departure of caregivers in the six countries could cause a total GDP loss of $125 billion to $250 billion by 2035, it estimated, urging employers to take steps to mitigate an employee-caregiver exodus—particularly, as the survey found, many of these employees are ambitious. 

Employers must support employee-caregivers through career development initiatives and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and policies that have been shown to retain caregivers and help them thrive, personally and professionally, it said.

Costly for employers 

The data from across the countries revealed that needs were unique and different means of support were required. “What is consistent across these countries is the need for a holistic, employee-centric approach, comprising multiple programs and policies to build inclusivity and advancement pathways for caregivers.”

Employees are under strain at home and work, often without adequate care assistance to cover their working hours.” Consequently, they risk leaving the workforce, a costly outcome for employers since “it’s expensive to find and train replacements. And when employees leave, they take their experience and institutional knowledge with them.” it pointed out.  

In India, where access to care is high, but women’s workforce participation rates are low - focusing on women caregivers’ retention in the workforce could enable employers to retain this caregiver cohort, it said.

“Employees should not have to choose between personal commitments and professional aspirations,” the survey said. If they don’t leave the workforce entirely, “employee -caregivers ….are likely to seek employment from organisations that offer higher compensation, greater flexibility, and better career advancement opportunities,” it said, calling on organisations to be that kind of employer.

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