300 - Supporting Parents: AVP of Global Benefits & Well-being at Merck + Co-Founder & CEO of Wellthy

Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, Co-Founder and CEO of Wellthy, and Stephan Dolling, AVP of Global Benefits & Well-being at Merck, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about the rising pressures facing working families and what companies can do to support their employees that are caregivers. ---- Sponsor Links: 🔗Learn more about Tilt at hellotilt.com/mpl http://hellotilt.com/mpl 🔗Learn more about Intuit QuickBooks Payroll at QuickBooks.com/workforce http://Quickbooks.com/workforce 🔗Explore the 2026 ​Deloitte Human Capital Trends Report https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insigh... MPL Links: 🔗Go sign up for MPL Build. ---- (06:00) HR’s Expanding Role in Healthcare & Family Support (08:00) The Rising Cost of Childcare & Caregiving Challenges (10:00) Layoffs, Workplace Pressure & The “Sandwich Generation” (11:00) How Employee Expectations Changed Post-COVID (13:00) Merck’s Philosophy on Supporting Working Families (15:00) What Real Employee Support Looks Like in Practice (17:00) Flexibility, Compassionate Time & Supporting Diverse Workforces (18:00) The Importance of Benefits Communication & Employee Awareness (20:00) Simplifying Access to Benefits Through Journey Mapping (22:00) Most Popular Benefits at Merck: Backup Care, Flexibility & Concierge Support (24:00) Why Backup Care Peaks During School Breaks (25:00) Senior Care, Pet Care & New Caregiving Trends (26:00) Why Managers Need Better Support & Empathy Training (28:00) What Great Managers Do During Caregiving Crises (30:00) Building a Workplace Culture Rooted in Flexibility & Trust (31:00) The $70 Billion Childcare Disruption Problem (32:00) How COVID Changed Merck’s Backup Care Strategy (34:00) Why Fast, Flexible Care Solutions Matter Most (35:00) The Future of Backup Care & AI-Powered Matching (38:00) Why Employees Don’t Engage With Benefits Programs (39:00) Simplicity vs Specificity in Benefits Communication (41:00) Keeping Benefits Top-of-Mind Before Employees Need Them (42:00) Using Employee Testimonials to Normalize Caregiving (45:00) Why Modern Workplaces Need to Normalize Care Conversations (46:00) Real Stories of Caregiving Support During Crisis Moments (48:00) Helping Employees Through Dementia Care & COVID Emergencies (49:00) Navigating Grief, Medical Debt & End-of-Life Care Support (51:00) Building the Business Case for Caregiving Benefits (53:00) Productivity, Flexibility & the ROI of Caregiving Support (55:00) Why Caregiving Is an Economic Issue, Not Just a Social Issue (56:00) AI, Productivity & the Cost of Context Switching (58:00) Mental Health, Burnout & What Employees Need Most Right Now ---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps 💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn ---- Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.