Working carers need more than flexibility at work

Due to population ageing and staff shortages in the care sector, citizens are expected to be called upon more often to support relatives or friends with care needs. At the same time, the government is encouraging people to work more hours and remain in paid employment for longer. “In this study, we map out the different parties involved in combining work and informal care,” says Professor of Informal Care Marjolein Broese van Groenou. “Interviews with carers and employers show that there are bottlenecks which point to the need for a joined-up approach, in which informal care, professional care and work are better aligned.”

Employer support helps, but does not resolve the challenges of intensive care responsibilities

The study shows that paid work and informal care can be combined well as long as the care situation remains manageable and employers offer flexibility at peak moments. The combination becomes difficult for carers with a substantial job and care responsibilities of more than four hours a week. “It is difficult to fully focus on your work when you know that someone you love needs intensive care at home. Or when you have to call various organisations during working hours to arrange appropriate care,” says Broese van Groenou.

Carers who provide intensive support therefore need more than flexibility at work. They also need a reduction in the administrative burden involved in obtaining professional help for the person they care for. The barriers they encounter when applying for different types of support place a heavy burden on them. Among women, intensive informal care is associated with an average contractual reduction in the working week of two hours, with consequences for income and pension accrual.

Employers are willing to help, but lack knowledge

Employers in this study are willing to support carers, but often lack knowledge about options for leave, flexibility and support from the care sector. They need practical tools for a workable carer-friendly policy, with standard measures for the majority of employees with lighter caring responsibilities and tailored support for the smaller group of intensive carers.

Employers expect employees to take the initiative in discussing their care situation and support needs. For employees, however, this is not always straightforward, for example because they fear consequences for their career or feel guilty towards colleagues. It is considered helpful when managers actively promote a carer-friendly organisational policy.

Organisation of care is a bottleneck: joined-up approach needed

Working carers experience a heavy burden when organising appropriate professional care and support for the person they care for. The complexity of the care system and the high administrative burden make this even more demanding. According to carers, care professionals also take too little account of their work situation. As a result, working carers often have to create the link between care professionals and employers themselves, further increasing the risk of becoming overburdened.

Alice de Boer, Endowed Professor of Social Inequality and Informal Care and researcher at Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau (SCP), says: “The study shows that better connections between informal care, work and professional care are possible. This is urgently needed, because working carers too often find themselves caught between these different areas. No one wants them to become overburdened or drop out as carers, employees and colleagues. That is why a joined-up approach is needed: one that better aligns informal care, work and professional care, and prevents overburdening.”

The report Op zoek naar verbinding: perspectieven op het combineren van betaald werk en mantelzorg can be read here. The study is a collaboration between Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, het Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau (SCP) and Instituut Gak.