Unpaid family leave helps caregiver
Middle-aged women who become caregivers for an ill or disabled family member are more likely to leave their jobs altogether than reduce their hours, the Newswise agency disclosed from a new
The study by sociologists Eliza Pavalko and Kathryn Henderson sought to determine whether working midlife women were more likely to leave the labor force once they began care work - answer: they were - and whether workplace policies made any difference. While access to family-friendly benefits such as flexible hours and paid vacation and sick days helped middle-aged women in general remain employed, only unpaid leave made a significant difference for caregivers.
None of the benefits, Pavalko notes, eased the psychological distress endured by the caregivers. "Prior studies have found consistently that caregivers have higher levels of psychological distress," Pavalko said, "but workplace policies don’t appear to help reduce that stress."
Pavalko and Henderson's research, funded by the National Institute on Aging, appeared in the journal Research on Aging. The article, Combining Care Work and Paid Work: Do Workplace Policies Make a Difference?, is at roa.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/28/3/359.
These findings fly in the face of two trends: a workforce that is increasingly female and aging, meaning more working men and women will encounter the challenges of caring for parents and other loved ones. During the six-year study, 13% of the employed women surveyed gave substantial levels of care for ill or disabled family members at least once. Caregivers who leave the workforce not only experience the immediate loss of their income and other employment benefits but also face the prospect of reduced Social Security benefits later.
"Despite growing attention to family-friendly policies in the workplace, we know surprisingly little about whether they help families manage the burden of care work," Pavalko said. "Employers may be particularly interested to learn the relatively inexpensive benefit of unpaid family leave is so effective for reducing employee turnover."
The study reflected responses of 2,021 women involved in the 1995 to 2001 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women. Here are additional findings:
· A woman's likelihood to remain in the workforce once caregiving begins is reduced by 50%.
· Of the sample, 71% reported access to unpaid family leave, 79% noted access to health insurance, almost 75% reported having six days or more of paid vacation or sick leave, and 37% reported access to flexible hours.
· Employees who had access to flexible hours were 50% more likely to remain employed regardless of whether or not they were caregiving.