The Complexities of Family Caregiving at Work: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

The current project examined the impact of caregiving and caregiving-work conflict on employees' well-being. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design (QUAN→qual) was utilized, and a total of 880 employees from a large health-care plan employer completed an online survey. Forty-five caregivers who completed the survey also participated in one of the five focus groups held 1 to 2 months later. Employed caregivers were significantly ( p < .05) more likely to indicate poorer physical and mental health than noncaregivers; among caregivers ( n = 370), caregiving-work conflict emerged as the most significant predictor of well-being and fully mediated the empirical relationship between burden and well-being. The focus group findings complemented the quantitative results; many of the challenges employed caregivers experience stem from their ability or inability to effectively balance their employment and caregiving roles. The results suggest the need to focus on caregiving-work conflict when constructing new or translating existing evidence-based caregiver interventions.

2020 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures

“…Costs of dementia caregiving for employers may include replacement costs for employees who quit due to their caregiving responsibilities and costs of absenteeism and workday interruptions 404 . In 2010, employers lost $13 billion due to employees’ elder care responsibilities 405,406 …”

“…404 In 2010, employers lost $13 billion due to employees' elder care responsibilities. 405,406 In 2019, it is estimated that dementia caregivers bore nearly twice the average out-of-pocket costs (for example, medical care, personal care and household expenses for the person with dementia and personal expenses and respite services for the caregiver) of non-dementia caregivers ($11,372 versus $6,121). 407 Data from the 2016 Alzheimer's Association Family Impact of Alzheimer's Survey indicated that among care contributors (a friend or relative who paid for dementia expenses and/or provided care for someone with dementia at least once a month in the prior year), 48% cut back on spending and 43% cut back on saving due to the out-of-pocket costs of providing help to someone with dementia.…”

A Survey of U.S. Medical School Full-Time Faculty Members Age 55+ One-fifth are caregivers and most report caregiving strain

“…(Very good, Good, Neither good nor poor, Poor, Very poor); and (5) I nd comfort in my religion or spirituality many times a day, every day, most days, some days, once in awhile, never/almost never, not applicable. As reported previously [8], we also asked questions about retirement and included one of those questions in the current analyses -Have you thought about or begun to think about retiring from full-time employment in academic medicine? (Yes, Unsure -maybe 5 years, Unsure -maybe 10 years, No).…”

“…Caregiving and caregiving burden affect employee wellness and productivity [8][9]. With increased awareness of both current and projected growth in caregiving responsibilities among their faculty members, human resource and faculty affairs and development leaders may develop appropriate policies, programs, and resources.…”

The Relationship of Caregiving to Work Conflict and Supervisor Disclosure With Emotional, Physical, and Financial Strain in Employed Family Caregivers

“…Previous research suggests that employed caregivers experience more strain when reporting high levels of primary caregiving stressors and high levels of caregiving to work conflict (CWC), such as having to adjust hours or perform caregiving duties from work (Barling, MacEwen, Kelloway, & Higginbottom, 1994; Fredriksen-Goldsen & Scharlach, 2006; Gaugler et al, 2018; Longacre, Valdmanis, Handorf, & Fang, 2016; Reid, Stajduhar, & Chappell, 2010). However, less is known about how organizational factors, such as supervisor disclosure and caregiver-friendly workplace policies (CFWPs), may diminish the impact of CWC on caregiver strain.…”