Search Results (11)

In Canada, 67% of unpaid caregivers are simultaneously balancing paid employment with unpaid care, equating to over 5.2 million Canadian Carer-Employees (CEs). This balancing act often incurs negative impacts on CEs’ health and well-being, including burnout, resulting in adverse effects on their labour force participation. To mitigate these social and economic impacts, McMaster University partnered with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) to develop the CSA B701:17 (R2021) Carer-inclusive and accommodating organizations standard and accompanying handbook B701-18HB Helping worker-carers in your organization. Since publication in 2017, there has been minimal uptake of the Standard across Canadian workplaces, with just 1062 complimentary downloads total. To determine the level of uptake across workplaces in Canada, the present mixed-methods study used purposive sampling to collect survey (n = 71) and semi-structured interview data (n = 11). The survey data was analyzed for descriptive statistics and logistic regression modelling. The interview data were thematically analyzed for common CFWPs and barriers to Standard uptake. It was found that only 24% of workplaces have implemented the Standard into their workplace practices, with full implementation and current supports as strong predictors of formal uptake. Prominent themes around barriers to uptake and existing organizational policies highlight the critical importance of workplace culture in facilitating CFWPs. Full article

Caregiving plays a crucial role in aging societies by supporting individuals with chronic illnesses, disabilities, or aging-related needs. The unpaid labour provided by caregivers diverts healthcare resources from the formal healthcare system; however, this incurs costs to the caregivers themselves in terms of declines in personal wellbeing. This study explores the relationship between caregiving and healthcare spending for two groups of caregivers: eldercare only and sandwiched. We found that physician visits were the most common resource used by caregivers, at a mean of 3.69 (SD = 4.01) visits over a 6-month period, excluding non-users of this service. This was followed by mental health services (M = 5.86, SD = 7.02), emergency room visits (M = 1.77, SD = 1.38), and hospital admissions (M = 3.61, SD = 8.53). There were no significant differences in healthcare utilization between eldercare and sandwiched caregivers. There were mixed results regarding characteristics associated with greater resource use; however, the hours of weekly caregiving were most consistently associated with greater healthcare utilization, indicating that healthcare use may increase with care burden. Full article

Background/Objectives: Ageing of the population is a pertinent characteristic in developed societies that raises questions of who provides care and how care is provided to frail and dependent old people. The majority of care is provided by family members, friends, and neighbours, many of whom are of working age and active in the labour market. The aim of this study is to research how work and care are intertwined and how they cause conflict for individuals in Europe. Methods: A hierarchical regression analysis of European Quality of Life Survey data was performed to evaluate the amount of explained variance of work–life conflict according to caring situation, working conditions, and demographic characteristics of an adult European population. A stratified, clustered multistage sample design was used to select 15,656 adult respondents working as employees. Results: The results show that the three blocks explain about 18% of work–life conflict, with working conditions being the most influential block, followed by demographic characteristics and caring situation. Conclusions: The frequency of caring, use of formal care, and quality of formal services significantly mitigate work–life conflict, together with the number of working hours, commuting, fear of losing one’s job, fear of having insufficient income in old age, and the ease of making ends meet. Care regimes also have a considerable effect on work–life conflict. Countries have the power and responsibility to support working carers in their multiple and often conflicting roles by allowing flexible work arrangements, the right to reduce the number of working hours safely, employment protection during care, emergency leave, and short- and long-term leave, as well as by investing in community-based long-term care models and services. Full article

Today, an increasing number of Canadian adults are providing unpaid care to their family members and friends while working full or part-time. We conducted a national survey of unpaid caregiving for older people in 2022 to learn who these people are, why they care, and to identify the social, economic, and health impacts of unpaid caregiving. Our findings show that many of these caregivers are also employees. While most research shows that women caregivers and carer-employees experience work-care tension that results in negative mental and physical health outcomes, our results are more mixed. This paper provides descriptive findings of carer-employee’s health and well-being, and compares them to previous research in Canada and abroad. I conclude with policy options for governments and employers to support the health and well-being of carer-employees. Full article

Double-Duty Carers (DDCs) refer to people who work in the healthcare industry while also providing unpaid care to relatives, friends, or neighbours. The expectations placed on DDCs is expected to grow, and these employees already experience a high caring burden. As such it is important to understand how best to support their health and wellbeing. This paper explores DDCs’ wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing an understudied factor: their mobility constraints. Following the Mobility of the Care Economy framework and a qualitative research design, it does so through a thematic analysis of 16 semi-structured interviews with female DDCs in Southern Ontario, Canada. Once data saturation was reached, three mobility pathways during the pandemic were identified, all of which negatively affected DDCs wellbeing. First, some COVID-19 policies (e.g., testing requirements) resulted in increased mobility demands and increased spatiotemporal constraints. Second, the closure of institutions that care for dependents (schools, daycares, day centres) resulted in forced reduced mobility, which increased financial stress. Finally, indirect mobility effects were identified: the reduced mobility of other informal carers increased the workload and emotional strain on DDCs. The paper concludes with a discussion of mobility-related policies that could improve DDC wellbeing. Full article

This qualitative study explored the commonalities and differences among the experiences of visible minority Transnational Carer–Employees (TCEs) before and after COVID-19. TCEs are immigrants who live and work in the country of settlement while providing caregiving across international borders. Purposive and snowball sampling resulted in the participation of 29 TCEs of Pakistani, Syrian, African, and South American origin living in London, Ontario. Thematic analysis of the dataset using the ATLAS.ti software, Version 23.2.1., generated three themes: (1) feelings associated with transnational care; (2) employment experiences of TCEs; and (3) coping strategies for well-being. The results of the secondary analysis conducted herein suggested that there are more similarities than differences across the four cohorts. Many participants felt a sense of satisfaction at being able to fulfill their care obligations; however, a different outlook was observed among some Syrian and African origin respondents, who disclosed that managing care and work is overwhelming. Most TCEs also reported facing limited job options because of language barriers. While various interviewees experienced a lack of paid work and reduced income after COVID-19, a distinct perspective was noted from African descent TCEs as they expressed facing increased work demands after the pandemic. Participants additionally revealed four common coping strategies such as keeping busy, praying, family support, and staying active. Study implications include the promotion of Carer-Friendly Workplace Policies (CFWPs) that can facilitate the welfare of unpaid caregivers. This research is important as it may inform policymakers to create opportunities that may not only foster economic stability of TCEs and the Canadian economy, but also contribute towards a more equitable society. Full article

Over the past 30 years, the workplace has witnessed significant changes. The fast growth in the use of information and communication technologies and changes in working hours and agreements radically changed the nature of the job. One such change is flexible employment schemes, which can provide alternatives for employees with disabilities and health problems, giving incentives to increase their productivity and job satisfaction. This study examines the relationship between those schemes and labour outcomes, such as job satisfaction, job quality and absenteeism in this group of people. Furthermore, the objective is to explore the role of flexible employment for carers of people with impairments. The empirical analysis relies on the European Working Conditions Survey from 2000 to 2015. The findings show that employees with disabilities and health problems working under flexible employment schemes are more likely to report higher levels of job satisfaction and lower absenteeism rates than their counterparts working under fixed employment schemes. Moreover, carers’ job satisfaction and organisational loyalty are significantly improved when flexible employment schemes are in place. The policy implications suggest efficient implementation at the state and corporate levels of flexible employment systems that can promote job satisfaction, reduce turnover intentions and, thus, increase productivity. Full article

In developed countries, population aging due to advances in living standards and healthcare infrastructure means that the care associated with chronic and degenerative diseases is becoming more prevalent across all facets of society—including the labour market. Informal caregiving, that is, care provision performed by friends and family, is expected to increase in the near future in Canada, with implications for workplaces. Absenteeism, presenteeism, work satisfaction and retention are known to be worse in employees who juggle the dual role of caregiving and paid employment, representing losses to workplaces’ bottom line. Recent discourse on addressing the needs of carer-employees (CEs) in the workplace have been centred around carer-friendly workplace policies. This paper aims to assess the potential cost implication of a carer-friendly workplace intervention implemented within a large-sized Canadian workplace. The goal of the intervention was to induce carer-friendly workplace culture change. A workplace-wide survey was circulated twice, prior to and after the intervention, capturing demographic variables, as well as absenteeism, presenteeism, turnover and impact on coworkers. Utilizing the pre-intervention timepoint as a baseline, we employed a cost implication analysis to quantify the immediate impact of the intervention from the employer’s perspective. We found that the intervention overall was not cost-saving, although there were some mixed effects regarding some costs, such as absenteeism. Non-tangible benefits, such as changes to employee morale, satisfaction with supervisor, job satisfaction and work culture, were not monetarily quantified within this analysis; hence, we consider it to be a conservative analysis. Full article

Austerity measures on services provision, introduced due to recent economic crises, have stimulated the search for innovative welfare solutions, including options that are not directly or entirely funded by public sources. In Italy, recent legislation has promoted the development of occupational welfare (OW) measures, aimed at strengthening the supply of services to support employees with informal (elder) care responsibilities. This paper aims to describe how the newly introduced OW schemes might innovate existing care arrangements, by identifying their impact on the different actors involved in home care provision (care recipients, family carers, home care service providers and migrant care workers), as well as at a macro level in terms of promoting social innovation. The international relevance of the Italian case comes from the fact that it is one of the more representative familistic care regimes, largely characterized by home care provided by informal carers and migrant care workers (MCW). The importance of Italian OW schemes is increasing, and in 2018 their presence in company-level bargaining agreements grew by more than 15%. A rapid review of the literature and expert interviews allowed us to describe the complex Italian OW schemes system, and to identify the positive implications of their application for the country’s long-term care (LTC) context, underlining what makes these measures a clear example of “social innovation” likely to have a future positive impact on home-based care in Italy. Full article

An increase in older people coupled with growing life expectancy has created a higher demand for long-term care (LTC) services in the global North. Recruitment of staff with an immigrant background has been a solution to meet this demographic challenge. Research shows that linguistic barriers and cultural differences can influence immigrant carers’ abilities to offer adequate care, while less is known about workplace training and intra-collegial support. This article explores systems and practices of training offered to new employees with immigrant backgrounds, and how the qualification process unfolds in daily work in nursing homes in Norway through an intersectional perspective focusing on the interlocking of gender, class and migrancy. The article shows that organizational conditions together with incomplete training combined with attitudes of ‘willful ignorance’ maintain privilege and oppression in these workplaces. The increased immigrant participation and their labor trajectories indicate the emergence of a new immigrant niche in the lower tiers of the LTC sector. The article contributes to the literature of migration, gender, healthcare services and labor by exploring immigrants’ situated labor experiences within changing institutional conditions in LTC. Full article

Working carers deserve to receive more and more attention from welfare regimes and workplaces. Using the work–family interface approach, we analyzed the effects of the Family Audit workplace measures—an Italian work–life balance policy—on couple well-being. The research was carried out through a Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing survey which was addressed to the employees of the organizations that participated in the policy program in 2015. The results showed that the measures implemented by the companies were able to improve the perception of couple well-being of working carers, but they did not trigger a cultural change that would permit the elimination of differences due to gender in work–family balance. The most effective measures were characterized by high levels of flexibility. These features allow the reduction of the negative effects produced by some socio-biographic variables, some work-related aspects, and aspects related to the Mediterranean welfare regime. Full article