Episode 10. Supporting Nontraditional Caregivers from an Organizational Development Perspective with Lauren Kiproff-Downer
When most people hear the word "caregiver" in a workplace context, they picture a parent with a young child. But a growing share of the workforce is navigating something different - caring for aging parents, a seriously ill partner, a disabled sibling, or a close friend managing a chronic illness. These non-traditional caregivers are largely invisible in organizational policy, rarely acknowledged in workplace culture, and often left to quietly manage an enormous amount of weight on their own.
In this episode, Hannah talks with Lauren Kiproff-Downer, an organizational development consultant about where organizations struggle to support this growing segment of our workforce, how even well-intentioned leaders can miss the mark, and what it actually takes to create workplaces where caregivers are supported to show up fully.
—————
Music: “Feel Good (Instrumental Version)” by PØW via Epidemic Sound
—————
Guest Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenkiproff
https://perparaconsulting.com/
https://laurenkiproffstudio.etsy.com/
—————
References
Dankas, S. (2026, February 15). What I missed as an HR leader - until my mother was dying. Medium.https://medium.com/@sally_67917/what-i-missed-as-an-hr-leader-until-my-mother-was-dying-82e43d0f384a
Eichbaum, Q., Barbeau-Meunier, C. A., White, M., Ravi, R., Grant, E., Riess, H., & Bleakley, A. (2023). Empathy across cultures - one size does not fit all: from the ego-logical to the eco-logical of relational empathy. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 28(2), 643-657.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-022-10158-y
Liu, C., Sun, S., Ma, G., & Ma, Q. (2026). Examining the relationship between empathetic leadership and organizational citizenship behavior in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry: the roles of altruistic attitude and caring ethical climate. Frontiers in psychology, 17, 1767674. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1767674
University of Michigan Ross School of Business. (2025, Q1). Workplace flexibility and RTO: Employee perspectives. Executive Edge.https://michiganross.umich.edu/programs/executive-education/insights/executive-edge-q1-2025-workplace-flexibility-and-rto-employee
Wenxuan C. (2026). Neglected empathy: A study of the mechanisms of social workers' empathic competence on work withdrawal. Work, 84(4), 1049-1062. https://doi.org/10.1177/10519815261423859
World Economic Forum. (2025, June 11). Talent trade-offs: Employability has overtaken flexible working in jobseekers’ priorities. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/06/work-employability-flexible-working/
Yucel, D., & Fan, W. (2023). Workplace flexibility, work–family interface, and psychological distress: Differences by family caregiving obligations and gender. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 18, 1825-1847.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-023-10164-1
Zhou, Y., Han, S., Kang, P., Tobler, P. N., & Hein, G. (2024). The social transmission of empathy relies on observational reinforcement learning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121(9), e2313073121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313073121