The hidden cost to corporate America attributed to missed workdays arising from care giving and the system built to close the gap for NRIs with parents in India
NEW DELHI, DELHI, INDIA, August 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — On World Senior Citizens Day, as the world pauses to recognize the contributions of its ageing population, a quieter crisis is unfolding inside the homes, offices, and group chats of one of America’s most accomplished immigrant communities. The 4.9 million Indian-Americans, the most highly educated and highest-earning immigrant group in the United States, are confronting a challenge that no professional credential, no corporate title, and no household-income has prepared them for.
They are the ultimate Sandwich Generation. Squeezed between raising children in American neighborhoods and schools, managing senior roles in demanding organizations, and coordinating the care of ageing parents living alone in India, across a 12-hour time difference, a 14-hour flight, and a healthcare system they can no longer navigate from afar.
India’s demographic pressure makes this workplace reality more urgent each year. UNFPA India’s Ageing Report 2023 projects that India’s elderly population will reach 347 million by 2050, growing at 3% annually, three times the national population growth rate. Today, 20% of urban elderly Indians already live without daily family support, a figure rising sharply as children migrate abroad for careers they built at their parents’ encouragement. According to the Pew Research Center, Indian-headed households in the US carry a median annual income of $151,200, making Indian-Americans the highest-earning immigrant group in the country. The caregiving challenge they face is not abstract. It arrives at 11pm on a Tuesday, when a parent in Pune, India, calls with a health concern and the child in Manhattan must decide within minutes whether it is urgent, who to call, and what to do. Without a doctor on speed dial, without a trusted local contact, and to their frustration without the ability to simply drive over.
Johns Hopkins University research finds that nearly 1 in 4 employed family caregivers reports caregiving-related absenteeism or reduced workplace performance every single month, with productivity dropping by approximately one-third. For employers, each affected senior employee represents an estimated $5,600 in annual productivity loss. SHRM’s research found caregivers unexpectedly miss an average of 1.2 workdays per month because their obligations cannot be adequately supported, translating into an estimated $17.5 billion in lost wages every month. The National Alliance for Caregiving finds that 56% of long-distance caregivers say the role actively damages their own mental health, with 41% reporting persistent loneliness despite being professionally and socially well-connected.
It is therefore easy to extrapolate and imagine the long-term impact of burnout among the sandwich generation caring for parents an ocean away, with no local system to lean on. “This is not a workforce that lacks resources or ambition. Rather what they lack is a robust system to lean on. A system that allows an Indian-American professional to be fully present in their career and their family, because they know someone capable and trusted is fully present in their parent’s life”, says Gupta, “Samarth is building that system, one dedicated Care Manager, one accountable team, one family at a time, across every border its members call home.”
Following World Senior Citizen Day, Samarth is conducting a free interactive online webinar on August 22nd, specifically for working professionals whose parents are in India – Preserving Senior Independence – Building a Cross-Border Care System That Works.
The primary takeaways for attendees will be:
• A clear framework for assessing your parent’s actual care needs versus the assumptions most NRI families are operating on
• A practical guide to building a cross-border emergency response protocol that works at 2am across time zones
• An understanding of the early warning signs of health and cognitive decline that are invisible on a weekly phone call but visible to a professional on the ground
• Tools for having the elder care conversation with your parents before a crisis makes it urgent
• A live Q and A with Samarth’s senior care managers to understand the options available to Indian-Americans.
Registration is free and open till midnight of August 21st. Sign up at: https://samarth.community/Webinar_Aug_2026
About Samarth Elder Care
Samarth Elder Care is India’s leading professional elder care company, helping older adults live with dignity and independence while giving their families, wherever in the world they may be, the assurance of high-quality care. Founded in 2016 by alumni of IIT, IIM, Cambridge, Yale and, with executive leadership backgrounds at McKinsey & Company, Samarth operates across 350+ cities in India, serves families in 33+ countries, and is backed by Social Alpha. Trusted by diaspora families across North America, UAE, Asia & Australia, Samarth services span in-home care with a dedicated Care Manager, community and wellbeing programmes, and specialist clinical care through the Samarth Clinic for Healthy Ageing.
When a family cannot be there, Samarth is.
Data Sources and References
Pew Research Center – Indians in the US Fact Sheet 2023 – pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/fact-sheet/asian-americans-indians-in-the-u-s
Johns Hopkins University via SHRM – Caregiver Absenteeism and Productivity Loss – vendordirectory.shrm.org/company/935094/news/3695058
SHRM press release, April 2025 – https://www.shrm.org/about/press-room/42–of-working-caregivers-report-career-challenges—new-shrm-re
UNFPA India – India Ageing Report 2023 – india.unfpa.org/en/publications/india-ageing-report-2023
National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP – Caregiving in the US – caregiveraction.org/caregiver-statistics
Gitnux – Caregiver Burnout Statistics 2026 – gitnux.org/caregiver-burnout-statistics
NSO India – Elderly in India 2021 – mospi.gov.in
Chitralekha Samaddar Sen
Samarth Life Management Pvt Ltd
+91 87006 90186
media@samarth.community
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