Back-up care perks go beyond kids, aging parents as companies add pets

Pets are part of the care process and employers take this into account.

As companies expand benefits to cover a broad range of employee care needs, backup care for pets is becoming a more popular job benefit, along with backup care for children and aging parents.

Backup care is short-term, usually employer-sponsored support that is used when regular arrangements fail. There is a great need for this across the US, especially as more and more companies are mandating that employees fully return to offices. A. new report A study from the AARP Public Policy Institute finds that nearly 59 million Americans will provide care to family, neighbors or friends in 2024, providing up to 49.5 billion hours of care and an estimated $1 trillion worth of work.

At the same time, a growing body of data shows why pet care is important for the workplace, too. A survey of more than 1,000 full-time workers who own pets found that: 75% They missed at least one day of work last year due to pet care issues, with 26% saying they missed six or more days of work, according to pet health company Wagmo.

Wellthy, the grooming company that provides backup care to millions of workers and families nationwide and to customers like Best Buy, Merck and Harvard University, added pets for the first time in 2024.

“We see the biggest growth area of ​​our business absolutely on the backup maintenance side,” said Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO and co-founder. healthy, he told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin on the latest episode of the “CNBC Changemakers and Power Players” podcast. “Companies will cover the cost of an employee finding a babysitter or a center for children… but will also cover expenses for seniors and pets,” he said.

Jurist-Rosner was named to the 2026 CNBC Changemakers List.

Wellthy introduces its pet replacement care offerings to “Pet Care ConsultantLaunching in summer 2025, this service can help navigate pet insurance, source therapy animals, and find emergency boarding and local veterinarians. Approximately 50% of its customers offer their employees the opportunity to use this service.

Backup maintenance provider Bright Horizons also owns Rover and Wag! It also offers pet care services, often offering walkers, sitters, and boarding services through its partnerships with . Employees at Wagmo benefit companies are reimbursed for routine pet care, such as vaccinations, grooming, blood work and exams.

With the flexibility of working from home now ending in many companies during the Covid era, which saw an increase in pet ownership, there is a greater need for longer-term care among employees due to daily care and business travel.

“We’re seeing smart companies saying ‘we’re going to make a return to office move’ and asking people to come back to their offices. We’re also going to support them with basic personal logistics,” Jurist-Rosner said.

Pets fit into a broader national care crisis

Pet care may not be the most pressing need for many families caring for children with special needs and aging parents with health problems. It wasn’t initially part of Wellthy’s mission.

Lawyer-Rosner was motivated to found Wellthy by: his experience She helps care for her mother, who has multiple sclerosis. “It was almost a 30-year journey navigating care for him. And he was my world. He was my best friend,” Jurist-Rosner said. “And so I happily stepped into the role of caregiver, but it was incredibly difficult and stressful and overwhelming for me. … incredibly challenging for almost all families. … and I felt a burning need to solve this problem for people like me,” she recalled during the podcast.

Jurist-Rosner noted that serious shortages of child care and elder care staff remain, as well as affordability challenges, with child care “currently more expensive than rent in almost every market in the U.S.”

“We’re seeing the problem getting worse and continuing,” he said. “I’m saying people are quitting their jobs because they don’t want to leave their families.”

The expanded availability of pet care assistance fits well with Wellthy’s broader mission to provide families with all their needs while reducing financial and emotional stress and increasing employers’ productivity.

“We’re finding that most families are already struggling financially, struggling to pay for care, and asking them to pay for yet another service feels like too much. We’re becoming more accessible to more families. And for employers, companies are improving retention and productivity,” Jurist-Rosner said. “They get valuable employees who might otherwise take time off work or need to take time off to meet caregiving needs. I think this caregiving is the under-discussed issue of workforce equity, workforce productivity and, frankly, workforce participation of our time.”

Follow and listen to this and every episode of the “CNBC Changemakers and Power Players” podcast Apple And Spotify.