Looking beyond hours of care: the effects of care strain on work withdrawal among Australian workers

Authors:
Andreea Constantin University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Andreea Constantin in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
,
Myra Hamilton University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Myra Hamilton in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
,
Nate Zettna University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Nate Zettna in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
,
Marian Baird University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Marian Baird in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
,
Daniel Dinale University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Daniel Dinale in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
,
Lisa Gulesserian University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Lisa Gulesserian in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
, and
Alison Williams University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Alison Williams in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
Restricted access
Get eTOC alerts
Rights and permissions Cite this article

This article advances understanding of the unpaid care–paid work nexus for carers of a person with a disability or illness, or a frail older relative. It examines the relationship between care intensity (measured in terms of both care hours and care strain) and withdrawal from work (measured in terms of both withdrawal of time spent in paid work and withdrawal from career development and progression). The analysis reveals that care strain has a stronger relationship with all dimensions of work withdrawal than care hours. It also reveals that the relationship between care strain and work withdrawal is moderated by a family-supportive work environment. The article sheds new light on the potential role of workplace cultures in mitigating the impacts of work–care conflict.

  • ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2016) 4430.0 – Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2015, Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics, www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4430.0main+features202015.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • ABS (2019) Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2018, Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics, www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/disability/disability-ageing-and-carers-australia-summary-findings/2018.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • AHRC (Australian Human Rights Commission) (2013a) Investing in Care: Recognising and Valuing Those Who Care, Vol 2, Sydney: Australian Human Rights Commission, https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/UnpaidCaringVolume2_2013.pdf.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • AHRC (2013b) Supporting Employees in the Workplace: A Toolkit, Sydney: Australian Human Rights Commission, https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/UnpaidCaringToolkit_2013.pdf.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Aiken, L.S. and West, S.G. (1991) Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

  • Allen, T.D. (2001) Family-supportive work environments: the role of organizational perceptions, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58(3): 41435. doi: 10.1006/jvbe.2000.1774

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Andrei, D.M., Parker, S.K., Constantin, A., Baird, M., Iles, L., Petery, G., Zoszak, L., Williams, A. and Chen, S. (2019) Maximising Potential: Findings from the Mature Workers in Organisations Survey (MWOS), Sydney: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Arksey, H. (2002) Combining informal care and work: supporting carers in the workplace, Health and Social Care in the Community, 10(3): 15161. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2524.2002.00353.x

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Arksey, H. and Glendinning, C. (2008) Combining work and care: carers’ decision‐making in the context of competing policy pressures, Social Policy and Administration, 42(1): 119.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Arksey, H., Kemp, P., Glendinning, C., Kotchetkova, I. and Tozer, R. (2005) Carers’ Aspirations and Decisions around Work and Retirement, Research Report No. 290, York: Department for Work and Pensions.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Aryee, S. and Tan, K. (1992) Antecedents and outcomes of career commitment, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 40(3): 288305. doi: 10.1016/0001-8791(92)90052-2

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Bainbridge, H.T.J. and Townsend, K. (2020) The effects of offering flexible work practices to employees with unpaid caregiving responsibilities for elderly or disabled family members, Human Resource Management, 59(5): 48395.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E. and Euwema, M.C. (2005) Job resources buffer the impact of job demands on burnout, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10(2): 17080. doi: 10.1037/1076-8998.10.2.170

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Bauer, J.M. and Sousa-Poza, A. (2015) Impacts of Informal Caregiving on Caregiver Employment, Health and Family, IZA Discussion Article No. 8851, Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor, http://ftp.iza.org/dp8851.pdf.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Behson, S.J. (2002) Which dominates? The relative importance of work–family organizational support and general organizational context on employee outcomes, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61(1): 5372. doi: 10.1006/jvbe.2001.1845

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Bernard, M. and Phillips, J. (2007) Working carers of older adults, Community, Work and Family, 10(2): 13960. doi: 10.1080/13668800701270075

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Bittman, M., Hill, T. and Thomson, C. (2007) The impact of caring on informal carers’ employment, income and earnings: a longitudinal approach, Australian Journal of Social Issues, 42(2): 25572. doi: 10.1002/j.1839-4655.2007.tb00053.x

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Blair-Loy, M. and Wharton, A. (2002) Employees’ use of work–family policies and the workplace social context, Social Forces, 80(3): 81345. doi: 10.1353/sof.2002.0002

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Burr, V. and Colley, H. (2019) ‘I just felt as though I had to drop something’: the implications of care for female working elder carers’ working lives, Ageing and Society, 39(5): 87798. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X17001179

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Callan, S. (2007) Implications of family-friendly policies for organizational culture: findings from two case studies, Work, Employment and Society, 21(4): 67391. doi: 10.1177/0950017007082876

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Carmichael, F., Hulme, C., Sheppard, S. and Connell, G. (2008) Work–life imbalance: informal care and paid employment in the UK, Feminist Economics, 14(2): 335. doi: 10.1080/13545700701881005

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Carr, E., Murray, E.T., Zaninotto, P., Cadar, D., Head, J., Stansfeld, S. and Stafford, M. (2018) The association between informal caregiving and exit from employment among older workers: prospective findings from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, The Journals of Gerontology: Series, 73(7): 125362.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Cass, B., Hill, T. and Thomson, C. (2012) Care to Work? Expanding Choice and Access to Workforce Participation for Mature Aged Women Carers, report for H.C. Coombs Policy Forum, Canberra: Australian National University.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Čikeš, V., Ribarić, H. and Črnjar, K. (2018) The determinants and outcomes of absence behavior: a systematic literature review, Social Sciences, 7(8): 126.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Deloitte (2020) The Value of Informal Care in 2020, Canberra: Deloitte Access Economics, https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2020-07/apo-nid307225.pdf.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Evans, M.G. (1985) A Monte Carlo study of the effects of correlated method variance in moderated multiple regression analysis, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 36(3): 30523. doi: 10.1016/0749-5978(85)90002-0

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Falkenburg, K. and Schyns, B. (2007) Work satisfaction, organizational commitment and withdrawal behaviours, Management Research News, 30(10): 70823. doi: 10.1108/01409170710823430

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Hamilton, M. and Adamson, E. (2013) Bounded agency in young carers’ life course-stage domains and transitions, Journal of Youth Studies, 16(1): 10117. doi: 10.1080/13676261.2012.710743

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Hamilton, M., Giuntoli, G., Johnson, K., Kayess, R. and Fisher, K. R. (2016) Transitioning Australian Respite (SPRC Report 04/2016). Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW Australia.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Hamilton, M. and Suthersan, B. (2020) Gendered moral rationalities in later life: older women balancing work and care of grandchildren in Australia, Ageing and Society, 41(7): 16511672.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Hanisch, K.A. and Hulin, C.L. (1990) Job attitudes and organizational withdrawal: An examination of retirement and other voluntary withdrawal behaviors, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 37(1): 6078. doi: 10.1016/0001-8791(90)90007-O

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Holt, H. and Lewis, S. (2011) ‘You can stand on your head and still end up with lower pay’: gliding segregation and gendered work practices in Danish ‘family-friendly’ workplaces, Gender, Work and Organisation, 18(s1): e20221. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2009.00510.x

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Hughes, J. and Bozionelos, N. (2007) Work–life balance as source of job dissatisfaction and withdrawal attitudes, Personnel Review, 36(1): 14554. doi: 10.1108/00483480710716768

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Jahn, E.W., Thompson, C.A. and Kopelman, R.E. (2003) Rationale and construct validity evidence for a measure of perceived organizational family support (POFS), Community, Work & Family, 6(2): 12340. doi: 10.1080/13668800302545

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Kelle, N. (2020) Combining employment and care-giving: how differing care intensities influence employment patterns among middle-aged women in Germany, Ageing and Society, 40(5): 92543. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X18001423

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Kotsadam, A. (2011) Does informal eldercare impede women’s employment? The case of European welfare states, Feminist Economics, 17(2): 12144. doi: 10.1080/13545701.2010.543384

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Laparidou, D., Middlemass, J., Karran, T. and Siriwardena, A.N. (2019) Caregivers’ interactions with health care services – mediator of stress or added strain? Experiences and perceptions of informal caregivers of people with dementia – a qualitative study, Dementia, 18(7–8): 252642. doi: 10.1177/1471301217751226

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Lewis, S. (1997) ‘Family friendly’ employment policies: a route to changing organizational culture or playing about at the margins?, Gender, Work and Organisation, 4(1): 1323. doi: 10.1111/1468-0432.00020

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Lilly, M., Laporte, A. and Coyte, P.C. (2007) Labor market work and home care’s unpaid caregivers: a systematic review of labor force participation rates, predictors of labor market withdrawal, and hours of work, Milbank Quarterly, 95(4): 64190. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0009.2007.00504.x

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Lyonette, C. and Yardley, L. (2003) The influence on carer wellbeing of motivations to care for older people and the relationship with the care recipient, Ageing and Society, 23(4): 487506. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X03001284

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Magnini, V. (2009) Understanding and reducing work–family conflict in the hospitality industry, Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality and Tourism, 8(2): 11936. doi: 10.1080/15332840802269643

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Mauno, S., Kinnunen, U. and Ruokolainen, M. (2006) Exploring work- and organization-based resources as moderators between work–family conflict, well-being, and job attitudes, Work & Stress, 20(3): 21033.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Meng, A. (2012) Informal home care and labor force participation of household members, Empirical Economics, 44(2): 95979. doi: 10.1007/s00181-011-0537-1

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Michaud, P.C., Heitmueller, A. and Nazarov, Z. (2010) A dynamic analysis of informal care and employment in England, Labour Economics, 17(3): 45565. doi: 10.1016/j.labeco.2010.01.001

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Nguyen, H.T. and Connelly, L.B. (2014) The effect of unpaid caregiving intensity on labour force participation: results from a multinomial endogenous treatment model, Social Science and Medicine, 100: 11522. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.10.031

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Noe, R. and Wilk, S. (1993) Investigation of the factors that influence employees’ participation in development activities, Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(2): 291302. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.78.2.291

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Pas, B., Peters, P., Doorewaard, H., Eisinga, R. and Lagro-Janssen, T. (2011) Feminisation of the medical profession: a strategic HRM dilemma? The effects of family-friendly HR practices on female doctors’ contracted working hours, Human Resource Management Journal, 3(21): 285302. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-8583.2010.00161.x

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Phillips, J., Bernard, M. and Chittenden, M. (2002) Juggling Work and Care: The Experiences of Working Carers of Older Adults, Bristol: Policy Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Podsakoff, P.M., MacKenzie, S.B., Lee, J.Y. and Podsakoff, N.P. (2003) Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies, Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5): 879903. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Reid, R.C., Stajduhar, K.I. and Chappell, N.L. (2010) The impact of work interferences on family caregiver outcomes, Journal of Applied Gerontology, 29(3): 26789. doi: 10.1177/0733464809339591

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Siemsen, E., Roth, A. and Oliveira, P. (2010) Common method bias in regression models with linear, quadratic, and interaction effects, Organizational Research Methods, 13(3): 45676. doi: 10.1177/1094428109351241

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Spann, A., Vicente, J., Allard, C., Hawley, M., Spreeuwenberg, M. and de Witte, L. (2020) Challenges of combining work and unpaid care, and solutions: a scoping review, Health and Social Care in the Community, 28(3): 699715. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12912

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Spiess, C.K. and Schneider, U. (2003) Interactions between care-giving and paid work hours among European midlife women, 1994 to 1996, Ageing and Society, 23(1): 4168. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X02001010

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • TOCC (Taskforce on Care Costs) (2007) The hidden face of care: combining work and caring responsibilities for the aged and people with a disability, final report, Taskforce on Care Costs, www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=fchy/carers/subs/sub023attach.pdf.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Zacher, H. and Winter, G. (2011) Eldercare demands, strain, and work engagement: the moderating role of perceived organizational support, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79(3): 66780. doi: 10.1016/j.jvb.2011.03.020

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Zuba, M. and Schneider, U. (2013) What helps working informal caregivers? The role of workplace characteristics in balancing work and Adult-care responsibilities, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 34(4): 4609. doi: 10.1007/s10834-012-9347-7

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
Andreea Constantin University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Andreea Constantin in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
,
Myra Hamilton University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Myra Hamilton in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
,
Nate Zettna University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Nate Zettna in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
,
Marian Baird University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Marian Baird in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
,
Daniel Dinale University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Daniel Dinale in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
,
Lisa Gulesserian University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Lisa Gulesserian in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
, and
Alison Williams University of Sydney, Australia

Search for other papers by Alison Williams in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close

Content Metrics

May 2022 onwards Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 1268 457 36
Full Text Views 241 3 0
PDF Downloads 210 3 0

Altmetrics

Dimensions