Multigenerational Workplace: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review

5 CARING FOR YOUR COMPANY’S CAREGIVERS

by Sarita Gupta and Ai-jen Poo

A few years ago, Joy Johnston flew across the country to help care for her father, who had Alzheimer’s. After she quickly used up the significant amount of paid time off she had accrued at her job, she applied for federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) benefits, but this proved difficult—her father regularly moved facilities, and the FMLA approval process requires a complicated array of hospital verification documents.

After her father died, Joy switched jobs. Six months later, her mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Joy had accrued no paid time off and was not yet eligible to apply for FMLA benefits, and her employer refused to let her work remotely when her ...