Ep 300 – Stephan Dolling (Merck) & Lindsay Jurist-Rosner (Wellthy)

1. Caregiving has become one of the biggest productivity challenges companies face

The conversation started with a simple reality: life outside of work has gotten harder to manage.

Childcare is more expensive. Access to care is more limited. Employees are juggling aging parents, kids, pets, healthcare appointments, school breaks, and increasingly demanding jobs — all at the same time.

And the impact doesn’t stop at the individual employee. When one person steps away unexpectedly to manage a caregiving issue, the ripple effects hit deadlines, teammates, managers, and the broader organization.

“Caregiving is not a social issue, it’s an economic issue.”

That framing came up repeatedly throughout the conversation. The companies that are approaching caregiving support as a business continuity and productivity challenge — not just a “nice to have” perk — are the ones making the biggest progress.

2. Flexibility matters more than almost any single benefit

One of the clearest themes from Stephan’s perspective at Merck: employees don’t always need their company to solve every problem.

They need to know they have flexibility, support, and permission to handle real life when it happens.

That’s why Merck built a “Compassionate Time” benefit that gives employees paid time off they can use for virtually anything — caregiving, emergencies, family needs, or unexpected life disruptions.

“The expectation is that managers approach these things with empathy.”

The bigger insight: flexibility only works if managers feel empowered to use it.

A lot of organizations unintentionally create rigid cultures where managers feel like they have to enforce policy instead of support people. Merck’s approach was the opposite. They focused heavily on helping managers understand they could do the right thing for employees without fear of getting in trouble.

“And they need to feel like the policy will back them up.”

3. Backup care isn’t just for emergencies anymore

One of the most surprising insights from the conversation was how backup care usage has evolved.

Most people assume backup care gets used primarily for sick kids or last-minute emergencies. But Wellthy is seeing something different across their client base.

Backup care spikes during predictable disruptions:

• School breaks
• Gaps before camps start
• Parent-teacher conference days
• Holidays
• Schedule mismatches

“School’s closed. I gotta figure something out.”

The challenge is that there’s no universal solution because every workforce — and every community — looks different.

Some employees want daycare centers. Others prefer babysitters, retired teachers, family members, or trusted community organizations. The strongest programs are moving away from one-size-fits-all models and instead focusing on flexibility and matching employees with the type of care that actually fits their lives.

“There’s a supply-and-demand matching problem with backup care.”

4. Great leaders normalize caregiving conversations

Managers are often the first people employees talk to when something difficult happens at home.

But most managers were never trained to handle these conversations.

Lindsay shared that the best managers don’t necessarily have all the answers — they simply create space for employees to feel comfortable talking about what’s happening.

What good looks like:

• Leaning into the conversation instead of avoiding it
• Asking thoughtful follow-up questions
• Helping employees navigate flexibility
• Pointing employees toward available resources
• Modeling healthy caregiving boundaries themselves

“I put on my calendar every day from 6 to 8 PM that I’m doing bedtime routine with my family.”

That modeling matters more than most leaders realize.

Employees pay attention to what leaders normalize. When managers openly demonstrate boundaries, caregiving responsibilities, and flexibility, it signals to employees that they can do the same without penalty.

5. Communication is the difference between a great benefit and a wasted investment

This was one of the most practical parts of the conversation.

Most companies already offer more benefits than employees realize. The problem is employees don’t remember them until they desperately need them — and by then, they don’t know where to go.

“You can’t expect people to read about something now and remember it two years later when they need it.”

Stephan shared how Merck simplified benefits communication by creating clear journey maps and focusing less on making employees memorize every benefit and more on teaching them where to go when a need arises.

Lindsay emphasized the importance of balancing:

• Simplicity
• Specificity

The communication can’t just say “caregiving support available.”

It needs to sound like:

• “Are you caring for an aging parent?”
• “Do you need help during school breaks?”
• “Are you navigating childcare challenges?”

“The more specific the examples are, the more people recognize themselves in the message.”

One especially smart tactic: focusing heavily on initial enrollment and account creation upfront so employees are already connected to the platform before they need help.

6. The companies doing this well are building cultures — not just benefits programs

One of the strongest takeaways from the conversation: employees don’t separate “benefits” from “culture.”

They experience them as the same thing.

The organizations employees trust most aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones where:

• Leaders talk openly about caregiving
• Managers show empathy
• Employees know where to find support
• Flexibility feels real
• People believe the company actually cares

“Take advantage of this meaningful opportunity to help your people.”

The conversation ended with a phrase that summed up the entire discussion perfectly:

“Normalize care.”

‍