Many companies call themselves a family. At Greenhouse, we know our people have families of their own, and many of them have family caregiving duties outside of their work lives. According to Harvard Business School Professor Joseph Fuller, 73% of all employees have some type of current caregiving responsibility (Harvard Business Review, April 2022).

That’s the vast majority of employees. These people are juggling competing priorities and demands on their time, energy and attention. In many ways, they are often unheard and unsupported. But not here at Greenhouse, where a grassroots effort to build a strong community of caregivers experiencing similar challenges sprung up in late 2021. The purpose: to connect and build awareness, as well as educate the rest of the company.

That’s how our Fullhouse Arbour was born.

What’s an Arbour?

We call employee resource groups Arbours at Greenhouse.

Arbours are trees that purify their environment by producing oxygen. In the same way, Greenhouse’s Arbours infuse our organisation with inclusion, diversity, equity and allyship – creating optimal conditions for everyone to grow.

Fullhouse Arbour’s purpose and mission

Our goal is to help Greenhouse develop a comprehensive understanding of caregiving and the competing obligations of employees who are caregivers.

We also aim to mitigate any conscious and unconscious bias impacting caregivers as well as support Greenhouse in increasing employee engagement, achieving the organisation’s strategic goals and attracting and retaining employees who are or will become caregivers.

With our caregiver Fullhouse Arbour, our focus is to create awareness of the many different lived experiences of our caregivers and foster a supportive community for all the caregivers here at Greenhouse.

Recognising National Family Caregivers Month

A recent White House proclamation recognised November 2022 as the first National Family Caregivers Month:

"During National Family Caregivers Month, we recognise the love and sacrifice of more than 50 million Americans providing crucial care and medical assistance to parents, children, siblings and other loved ones, ensuring their health and dignity."

Greenhouse wants to take it global.

The Fullhouse Arbour leadership team worked for months in advance of the month-long period of recognition to excite and engage our caregivers members, and provide programming to inform and educate the rest of the Greenhouse employee community. Initiatives include:

• A bespoke Zoom background recognising and supporting National Family Caregivers Month

• An in-depth caregiver interview during our November All Hands meeting

• A fun video featuring members of Fullhouse

• A customised HealHaus workshop session for Fullhouse members called “Navigating change with grace”

• A fireside chat open to all Greenhouse employees on how leaders and businesses can better support caregivers, featuring Mita Mallick, Head of Inclusion, Equity and Impact at Carta

• Videos of some of our caregiver stories to share across our social media channels

Watch some of our Fullhouse caregiver stories from: