This post is guest-written by Diana Clark, Sr Benefits Manager, Promega
My personal caregiving journey began in my late-30s while raising young children and caring for a terminally ill parent. This period gave me firsthand experience into how difficult it can be to balance all of those responsibilities. I learned about the impossible choices caregivers face, and the toll it can take on a person’s physical, emotional and professional wellbeing.
That personal experience has become a cornerstone of my work as a benefits manager advocating for meaningful, compassionate policies that truly support our employees.
At Promega, we believe people bring their whole selves to work. Supporting caregivers isn’t just an act of kindness – it’s an investment in our people and culture.
Caregivers At Work
Photo credit: Stephanie Shea, Sr Corporate Engagement Liaison
A caregiver is anyone who takes on the responsibility of supporting a family member who cannot fully care for themselves. This could be a parent helping a child with special needs, a spouse managing a partner’s disability or an adult caring for an aging parent. You don’t need to have medical training or 24/7 duties to be a caregiver. If you’re coordinating appointments, offering daily assistance or just trying to juggle work and someone else’s health needs, you’re a caregiver. And you deserve support.
When we started thinking about caregiving at Promega, we learned that many employees don’t identify as caregivers, even when they’re doing caregiving tasks daily. Internal education helped normalize conversations about caregiving and opened the door for employees to access support they may not have otherwise received.
As we listened and learned, we heard about absenteeism, burnout and depleted energy. These individuals were struggling, and it was affecting every part of their personal and professional lives. By carefully considering the needs of the individual, we could help them bring their best self to work and every other situation in their life.
Promega Support for Caregivers
To begin, we recognized that caregiving responsibilities don’t follow a 9-to-5 schedule. Whether adjusting work hours, working remotely or stepping out for an appointment, flexibility is essential. That type of flexibility is an ingrained part of the Promega culture, empowering employees to manage their own responsibilities without fear.
In 2018, we piloted a paid caregiver leave program. We started by offering two weeks of paid time off annually, in addition to their allotment of sick, vacation and personal time. This program revealed several things: First, we discovered just how many caregivers we had within our organization. It was far more than we had expected, and it led to deeper connections between HR and employees. Second, we learned that people didn’t take more time off than they needed. In fact, few people used it as continuous leave. Most caregivers used their time off allotment to cover absences ranging from a few hours to a few days, particularly in unpredicted situations. Though more employees have requested leave than we expected, the productivity impact has been negligible. These employees were already taking that time off – they were just burning their sick and vacation time, forcing them to come to work ill or take various forms of unpaid leave, creating additional financial stress.
Our caregiver leave program gave these employees some long-overdue breathing room – both emotionally and financially. They could take the time off they needed without worrying about how it would impact their finances or job standing. In 2022 we increased the leave to three weeks and later increased again to six weeks off per year. The phased approach helped us learn and grow alongside employees as we listened to their feedback and experiences.
Finally, we took a hard look at our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). These are often underutilized in workplaces, with usage rates sometimes below 4%. We expanded our EAP to include advocacy services. This means employees can access help with legal documentation, Medicare navigation and finding local care resources. For example, when an employee’s parent falls and needs rehab, our EAP can help schedule appointments, find home equipment and identify local care facilities. For caregivers, this means less time chasing resources and more time being present for their loved ones and themselves. Our EAP utilization has now soared to over 30% (including counseling, benefits support, clinical services, webinars and portal utilization).
Leading with Empathy
Even with great benefits, people need to feel safe using them. Some employees waited years before coming forward because they needed to see how others were treated first. That’s human. Building trust takes time.
At Promega, we worked to create psychological safety through consistent messaging, open conversations and visible leadership support. Managers were trained to approach caregiving disclosures with empathy. Our HR team positioned itself as a support hub rather than a gatekeeper. As trust grew, more employees stepped forward. And with each story shared, we strengthened the culture for everyone.
Caregivers are all around us. At Promega, we’ve learned that policy and empathy go hand in hand. Our support programs are built on the understanding that caregiving is not a disruption; it’s a part of life. If you’re a caregiver, we want you to know: your needs are valid, your challenges are recognized, and help is available.
Learn more about how Promega supports employees in our 2025 Corporate Responsibility Report.
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