Becoming an informal care-giver: the role of work status incongruence

Abstract

The ageing of the workforce suggests that many older adults will be combining work and care. While there is extensive evidence for the impact of informal care-giving on paid employment, there is less research on how work status may influence the provision of informal care. It has also yet to be established whether work preferences may influence the uptake of care-giving responsibilities, particularly for older workers. We investigated the impact of work status congruence on taking up informal care at two-year follow-up. A sample of 1,211 employed participants aged 55–70 years was surveyed over two consecutive waves. Involuntary part-time workers were more likely to provide care at Time 1 than involuntary full-timers, voluntary part-timers and voluntary full-timers. Participants were more likely to take up care if the opportunity costs of doing so were low, however, only for those whose preferences for more work were not met. There were no moderating effects of gender and economic living standards on the relationship between work status incongruence and provision of care-giving. Understanding the decision-making processes older workers undertake when taking up informal care are complex and must consider the influence of personal work preferences. These findings have implications for care and work-based policy given the importance of informal care in sustaining ageing-in-place policies.

The concept of informal care: ambiguities and controversies on its scientific and political uses

“…Several recent studies have addressed the challenges and impact of care responsibilities on employment (Burch et al, 2019 ; Moussa, 2019 ; Clancy et al, 2020 ; Spann et al, 2020 ; Charmes, 2022 ; Lam et al, 2022 ). The impact of different labor market relationships on care is less studied (Mazzotta et al, 2020 ; Koreshi and Alpass, 2022 ). Different studies address the role of gender in the type of care provided and the consequent impact in jobs and earned income (Heger and Korfhage, 2020 ; Hsu et al, 2020 ; Peña-Longobardo et al, 2021 ; Hanson, 2022 ).…”

“…Among the main policies on informal careers the following were identified: their legal recognition within the framework of care systems; direct cash benefits to careers or indirect care allowances, through the recipients of care and tax benefits; paid and unpaid leave and flexitime measures for workers-careers; psychological support and support groups; training and capacity building; assistive technologies; services provided to the people cared for as forms of support and redistribution of the work of informal careers, particularly home support and carer respite by sending the person cared for to long-term care facilities, under the health systems, social support structures or local authorities (Brimblecombe et al, 2018 ; Spann et al, 2020 ; Da Roit, 2021 ; EC, 2021a ; IACO, 2021 ; Koreshi and Alpass, 2022 ). Policy measures differ according to national reality, namely regarding: the scope of the concept of informal carer, who may only be someone with family ties (Spain, Portugal, Denmark) or include other ties (Australia, France, Germany, UK, Finland); the duration of unpaid leave; the existence of paid leave, its duration and scope (only family members or not); the type of support equipment available.…”

Understanding the use of Flexible Work Arrangements Among Older New Zealand Caregivers

“…Policy initiatives such as ageing in place have been proposed to encourage families to provide care for their loved ones in order to reduce the societal expense of providing residential care ( Schofield et al, 2006 ). The increasing provision of informal caregiving ( Pavolini & Ranci, 2008 ) and the extension of working lives ( Davey, 2006 ) will result in many older workers combining paid work and informal caregiving responsibilities ( Koreshi & Alpass, 2022 ).…”