For caregivers, Thanksgiving is no break at all

Key Takeaways:

• Caregiving demands often spike during holiday breaks, underscoring the absence of paid family and medical leave.
• From January to August 2025, 455,000 women left the workforce due to caregiving responsibilities.
• A new campaign by Paid Leave for All encourages honest out-of-office messages that reflect real caregiving needs.
• Airports and Times Square will feature people’s caregiving stories this week.
• The long-term goal is to push Congress to pass comprehensive paid leave legislation.

Holiday Breaks: Not Relaxing for Caregivers

As millions of Americans travel or gather for Thanksgiving each year, some never get the chance to rest. In a country without a federal paid family and medical leave policy, those offering care to loved ones often find themselves under even more pressure. Parents must shoulder childcare when daycare is closed, and family members sometimes coordinate hospice and funeral arrangements for an ailing relative. By the time the holiday is over, exhausted workers return to their jobs with little or no real downtime.

The Hidden Toll on Women

Women carry a disproportionate share of this caregiving burden. From January to August 2025, an estimated 455,000 women left the workforce entirely due to challenges that include caring for children and aging parents. Beyond the human impact, this exodus represents a loss of productive workers, placing additional strain on both individual households and the broader U.S. economy.

A Campaign for Change

With these challenges escalating, Paid Leave for All, a nonprofit advocating for universal paid family and medical leave, has launched a new campaign to highlight the human cost of the current system. Starting this week, the organization encourages workers to share honest out-of-office messages, explaining how they are really spending their time away—caring for a sick spouse, managing childcare, or helping an older parent navigate medical treatments.

Highlighting Real Stories

In place of the usual polite auto-reply, suggestive messages might read: “Thanks for your message! I’m OOO because my mom is having surgery. But like so many Americans, I don’t have any paid leave, so I will be back on Monday.” Another example points out the financial burden of caregiving: “In-home care is $60K and I have limited PTO. Will get back to you ASAP!” By speaking frankly, caregivers bring visibility to the hidden work they perform.

Shining a Light on Policy Gaps

These revealing out-of-office notes will be displayed prominently at the New York and Washington, D.C., airports—particularly significant during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. They will also appear on a billboard in Times Square, amplifying the message that the U.S. remains the only developed country without a national paid family and medical leave policy.

Looking Ahead

When Congress reconvenes, representatives from Paid Leave for All plan to present these stories to lawmakers. Although enacting paid leave in a divided government faces steep hurdles, the organization sees growing bipartisan recognition of how critical paid family and medical leave is for both the workforce and the economy. Until legislation becomes a reality, many Americans will continue trading their holiday rest for long hours of uncompensated caregiving—an issue that can’t wait much longer.