Configurations of Care Work: Paid and Unpaid Elder Care in Italy and the Netherlands

Abstract

Most current sociological approaches to work recognise that the same activity may be undertaken within a variety of socio-economic forms - formal or informal, linked with the private market, public state or not-for-profit sectors. This article takes care of the elderly as an exemplary case for probing some of the linkages between paid and unpaid work. We attempt to unravel the interconnections between forms of care work undertaken in different socio-economic conditions in two settings, the Netherlands and Italy. The research is part of a broader programme concerned with differing interconnections and overlaps between work activities. In this article, we are concerned with: 1) how paid and unpaid care work map on to four ‘institutional’ modes of provision - by the state, family, market, and voluntary sector; and 2) with the configurations that emerge from the combination of different forms of paid and unpaid work undertaken through the different institutions. Despite the centrality of family-based informal care by women in both countries, we argue that the overall configurations of care are in fact quite distinct. In the Netherlands, state-funded care services operate to shape and anchor the centrality of family as the main provider. In this configuration, unpaid familial labour is sustained by voluntary sector state-funded provision. In Italy, by contrast, there is significant recourse to informal market-based services in the form of individual migrant carers, in a context of limited public provision. In this configuration, the state indirectly supports market solutions, sustaining the continuity of family care as an ideal and as a practice.

Embodying the ideal carer

“…Degiuli (2007) also discussing the situation in Italy presents interview data on migrant workers' experiences. Generally it can be noted that the literature on migrant domestic carers is particularly extensive in relation to the Mediterranean countries and the respective welfare states (Bettio et al 2006;Glucksmann & Lyon 2006;van der Geest et al 2004), or Asian societies (Huh 2008;Mehta & Thang 2008). Comparative perspectives on migration and care in general can also be found in Glucksmann and Lyon (2006) and van der Geest et al (2004).…”

“…Generally it can be noted that the literature on migrant domestic carers is particularly extensive in relation to the Mediterranean countries and the respective welfare states (Bettio et al 2006;Glucksmann & Lyon 2006;van der Geest et al 2004), or Asian societies (Huh 2008;Mehta & Thang 2008). Comparative perspectives on migration and care in general can also be found in Glucksmann and Lyon (2006) and van der Geest et al (2004). The specifics of the phenomenon of migration that can be found in the Austrian context are more precisely described by the terms rotational (Bettio et al 2006) or pendulum migration (Glucksmann & Lyon 2006).…”

“…Comparative perspectives on migration and care in general can also be found in Glucksmann and Lyon (2006) and van der Geest et al (2004). The specifics of the phenomenon of migration that can be found in the Austrian context are more precisely described by the terms rotational (Bettio et al 2006) or pendulum migration (Glucksmann & Lyon 2006).…”

“…The live-in arrangements are usually organised by specialised agencies and the carers work on a fortnightly cycle (Gendera in press). This example of rotational (Bettio et al 2006) or pendulum migration (Glucksmann & Lyon 2006) is a situation which inevitably raises several difficulties for the construction of care as emotional labour based on proximity, love and intimacy. The traditional dependence on the nuclear family and other informal bonds correlates with a construction of care work being based on emotional attributes such as closeness, love and intimacy.…”

“…Not only do these differences bear different legal implications, they also emphasise the split between professional care workers and informal carers. Several authors argue that migrant carers' work is mainly to be described as minding (Bettio et al 2006;Glucksmann & Lyon 2006) which can indeed be identified in the discursive context of Austria. This can be exemplified by narratives and images such as the ''Helping hands from middle and Eastern Europe'' (several newspaper articles) or references to ''40,000 illegal foreign supporters'' (Der Standard, 09/02/07).…”