Record Details

Combining Work and Eldercare: A Neglected Work-Life Balance Issue

Labour, Employment and Work in New Zealand

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Field Value
 
Title Combining Work and Eldercare: A Neglected Work-Life Balance Issue
 
Creator Davey, Judith
Keeling, Sally
 
Description Discussions about "work-life balance" and "family-friendly workplaces" mainly focus on working parents with young children. Employees who care for and support older relatives receive much less attention. But this issue will grow in importance as the population ages and labour shortages encourage middle-aged people to be fully involved in the workforce. As life expectancy increases many working people have parents in their eighties and nineties, often in need of care and support. How do they balance work and eldercare? A research project on working carers involved the employees of Wellington and Christchurch City Councils and found that about one in ten had eldercare responsibilities. Questionnaires and focus groups provided information on the type and extent of eldercare and how it is managed alongside work commitments. Such responsibilities can add to workers· stress and have an impact on productivity. Suggestions for employers arose from the study, including the need to develop policies on eldercare responsibilities among their staff as an emerging priority.
 
Publisher Victoria University of Wellington
 
Date 2004-12-13
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Peer-reviewed Article
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/LEW/article/view/1279
10.26686/lew.v0i0.1279
 
Source Labour, Employment and Work in New Zealand; 2004: Labour, Employment and Work in New Zealand
2463-2600
 
Language eng
 
Relation https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/LEW/article/view/1279/1139