Latest / The Diversity Career Podcast with Fexingo: Inclusion, Equity, and Underrepresented Professionals / How UPS Made Caregiver Support a Career Retention Tool
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to talk about a company that quietly built one of the most comprehensive caregiver support programs in American business, and it's not a tech firm or a consulting house. It's UPS. Luna: Really? UPS, the brown trucks and package sorting? That's unexpected. What did they do? Lucas: So a couple of years ago, UPS looked at their workforce and realized that roughly 20 percent of their employees — that's about 100,000 people — were unpaid caregivers for an aging parent, a disabled spouse, or a child with special needs. And they were bleeding talent. The turnover rate among caregivers was significantly higher than the rest of the workforce. Luna: I can see why. If you're a driver or a package handler, your schedule is rigid. A doctor's appointment or a sudden care crisis means either missing work or losing pay. Lucas: Exactly. So in 2023, UPS piloted a program called 'UPS Care.' The core piece was flexible scheduling — allowing drivers and sorters to swap shifts or adjust start times without penalty, as long as they gave 24 hours notice. They also introduced a backup care subsidy: up to 10 days a year of subsidized in-home care or adult daycare, at $50 a day. Luna: That's a real benefit. But how did it work in a unionized environment? UPS has a massive Teamsters contract — I'd imagine any scheduling flexibility has to be negotiated. Lucas: That was the smart part. UPS worked with the union to create a 'caregiver leave bank' — separate from sick days or vacation. Employees could donate unused hours into a pool, and caregivers could draw from it. The union saw it as a retention tool, which ultimately strengthens the membership. Luna: So it wasn't a top-down mandate. It was a co-designed solution. Lucas: Right. And the results are pretty striking. After the first year, retention among caregivers in the pilot facilities improved by 15 percent. Unplanned absences dropped by 22 percent. UPS calculated that for every dollar they spent on the subsidy and admin, they saved about $1.60 in reduced turnover and overtime costs. Luna: That's a clear business case. And it's not just about altruism — it's about operational stability. A driver calling in sick because their mom fell is a route that doesn't get covered. Lucas: Exactly. And this is a massive issue across the economy. A 2025 study from Boston College's Center for Work and Family found that one in four U.S. workers now provides unpaid care to an adult relative. The average caregiver spends about 20 hours a week on that role — that's basically a part-time job. Luna: And these numbers are only going up as the population ages. The oldest boomers are in their late 70s now. Lucas: So UPS is in a position where they can't just offer a generic employee assistance program — they need something that actually fits shift work. Their solution was a dedicated 'caregiver resource network' — a group of trained managers who help employees navigate local elder care services, legal aid, and even financial planning for caregiving costs. Luna: That's a lot more than just a hotline number on a poster. Lucas: It's a career support structure. Because if you're a 45-year-old driver and you're constantly worried about your dad with dementia, you're not thinking about your next promotion. UPS realized that keeping someone engaged at work requires removing that hidden stress. Luna: And this isn't just for hourly workers — did they extend it to managers too? Lucas: Yes, the program is company-wide. But the design was deliberately built for the operations floor. For example, the backup care subsidy — you can use it for a parent or a spouse, not just kids. That's unusual. Most corporate care benefits focus on childcare. Luna: So it's elder care and disability care inclusive from day one. That really does set it apart. Lucas: And look, UPS isn't the only company doing this. But they're one of the few in heavy industry or logistics. That matters because the stereotype is that these careers are inflexible. If UPS can make it work, it challenges other employers in manufacturing, warehousing, transportation. Luna: I'm thinking about the ripple effect. If a driver stays with UPS because of this program, they're also more likely to move up. UPS promotes heavily from within — many of their VPs started as loaders. So caregiver support becomes a pipeline issue. Lucas: Exactly. One of the program managers told me they had a woman who'd been a driver for 12 years, was about to quit because her mother needed daily care. The resource network connected her with a local adult daycare that had a sliding scale. She's still driving today, and she just became a union steward. Luna: That's the kind of story that makes the ROI real. And it's not just about retention — it's about engagement. Someone who feels supported is going to be more present, more productive. Lucas: If this episode has helped you think differently about how companies can support caregivers, or if you've ever faced that tension between work and caring for a family member, we want to keep bringing you these stories. This show is ad-free, and it stays that way because listeners who find value in it occasionally chip in. If today was worth the price of a coffee to you, there's a link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. And we really do appreciate it. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to make sure we can keep digging into programs that actually change people's careers. Now, Lucas, you mentioned that UPS is expanding this model — what's the next phase? Lucas: Great question. Starting in 2025, they rolled out 'UPS Care' to all 1,800 facilities across the U.S. That's a massive implementation challenge, especially in small sorting centers with 50 employees where you don't have a dedicated HR person. Luna: How do you train supervisors in those smaller hubs to actually use the flexible scheduling tools? Lucas: UPS built a digital toolkit — basically a mobile app where employees can request shift swaps and the system automatically approves if it meets coverage thresholds. That removes the manager discretion problem. And they have a central caregiver hotline staffed by social workers, so the local supervisor doesn't need to be an expert. Luna: So technology is the enabler, but the human infrastructure — the resource network — is the backbone. Lucas: Exactly. And I think the lesson for other employers is that you don't need a perfect program on day one. UPS started with one pilot in Atlanta, then expanded to three facilities, then ten. They iterated based on what workers actually needed. Luna: That's the opposite of a big bang launch that fails because it's too generic. Lucas: Right. And one thing they learned was that caregivers didn't always self-identify. Many employees saw it as just family responsibility, not a workplace issue. So UPS started using inclusive language in internal communications — 'If you're caring for someone, you're not alone' — to normalize the conversation. Luna: That's smart. Because the stigma of caregiving can be as big a barrier as the logistics. Lucas: And it's not just about older parents. UPS has also seen a lot of use from employees caring for veterans with PTSD or traumatic brain injuries. The flexibility to attend medical appointments has been a game changer for those families. Luna: So this program ends up touching multiple diversity dimensions — age, disability, veteran status — all through the caregiving lens. Lucas: Exactly. It's intersectional by design. And I think that's the takeaway: caregiver support isn't a niche benefit. It's a foundational career tool that can unlock potential across the entire workforce. Luna: I'm curious — have any other logistics companies followed suit? Lucas: FedEx launched a similar pilot in 2024, though it's more limited — only for salaried employees so far. DHL has experimented with compressed workweeks for caregivers in their European hubs. But UPS is the only one that's gone company-wide with a union-backed model. Luna: That's a competitive advantage in the labor market. If you're a driver choosing between UPS and FedEx, and you have a caregiving situation, UPS just became a lot more attractive. Lucas: And retention matters more than ever in logistics. The cost of training a new driver is about $10,000. So keeping 15 percent more of your caregivers adds up fast. Luna: I think this is a model that could really transfer to healthcare, retail, even hospitality. Anywhere with shift work and a diverse workforce. Lucas: Absolutely. And the key is starting small, measuring the impact, and letting the data speak. UPS did that, and now they have a program that's good for workers and good for the bottom line. Luna: I'd love to check back in a year and see how the national rollout is going. Lucas: We'll do that. For now, I think the message is clear: caregiving is a career issue, and smart companies are starting to treat it that way.