Feeling the squeeze? The effects of combining work and informal caregiving on psychological well-being

Abstract

Does employment provide respite or add stress to caregivers? As a result of population aging and increasing female employment rates, growing numbers are facing the competing demands of paid work and caregiving. This study explores the effect of providing regular personal care by employment status on six dimensions of psychological well-being. We concentrate on partner and parent care recipients and differentiate between in-household and out-of-household caregiving. We use cross-sectional data from the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing and Generation study (n = 11,047, age 25-64). Results indicate that out-of-household caregiving has no significant relationship with men or women's well-being, irrespective of employment status. In-household caregiving, however, relates to lower psychological well-being, but only among women who do not work full-time. The advantages of full-time employment to caregivers may be due to greater opportunity to achieve the full benefits that this role has to offer. There is little to suggest that combining work and caregiving harms well-being. In fact, a "double burden" seems to be experienced by women who combine extensive caregiving with limited employment.

Keywords: Caregiving; Employment; Norway; Personal care; Psychological well-being.

Fig. 1

Mean levels of psychological well-being by caregiving and employment status, controlling for age, education, partner, children, and health. Women (n=5655)