Caregivers for adults experience more workplace burnout than those who care for children. Senior Partner Shail Thaker and colleagues find that 37 percent of caregivers for adults report high burnout symptoms, including cognitive impairment, emotional impairment, exhaustion, and mental distance. Meanwhile, 19 percent of men and 22 percent of women who care for children say that they have high burnout. Women who take care of children experience greater exhaustion than their male counterparts (43 percent versus 35 percent, respectively).
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A bar graph shows the percentage of respondents reporting high burnout symptoms, categorized by caregiver type. The global average for high burnout symptoms is 22%, while caregivers for adults reported a higher rate of 37%. In contrast, caregivers for children reported 20%, while female caregivers for children reported 22%, and male caregivers for children reported 19%.
Note: This image description was completed with the assistance of Writer, a gen AI tool.
Source: McKinsey Health Institute Employee Holistic Health Survey, 2023.
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To read the report, see “Thriving workplaces: How employers can improve productivity and change lives,” January 16, 2025.