As with any extended leave, simply offering time off doesn't mean employees will take it. Leaving work for any amount of time or occasion can jeopardize an employee's role in some workplaces. That's why men resist paternity leave, for example. Rosanna Fay, writing for the Atlantic, said her experience caring for her two terminally ill parents while juggling work was like going on maternity leave.
"When I returned home after a two-week hiatus following my mother's death," she writes, "my colleagues welcomed me with cards, gifts, condolences and a new job description that left me with nothing challenging to do."
But the first step toward normalizing a benefit, as with parental leave, is offering it. If elder care follows the same pattern as other hot perks, more companies competing for talent will follow Vanguard and Deloitte's lead.
"I think it's becoming a bigger and bigger deal," said Vanguard's Gubanich. "I think more and more firms are going to look to these kinds of programs to differentiate themselves."
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.