The effect of job characteristics on the experience of combining work and care
Why talk about work and care? Prevalence of informal caring – Many employees provide unpaid caring outside of their work – Most employees will take on a care role during their career Organisations are becoming increasingly aware of the non- work responsibilities of their employees. – Is caring the next big social change for organisations to respond to? • Legislative context • Employer branding • Work-life initiatives • Workforce participation of women
Combining caring and employment Positive aspects of combining work and care – Financial security – Improved well-being via a break from caring (or work) – Skills developed in one role can be used in the other – Social relationships
What is the effect of caring demands? Negative aspects… – Conflict between the demands of work and care roles • Time based conflict • Strain based conflict Caring to work Caring demands conflict +
What is the flow on effect of those care demands? Job satisfaction - Turnover intentions + Caring to work Workplace climate for Caring demands - conflict caring + + Negative career outcomes - Personal well-being
What can organisations do to help? Work and care – Conflict between work and caring might be reduced by adjusting how people do their job or provide care. Managing the conflicting demands of work and care is easier when an employee has flexibility to choose how he or she performs a job: – i) Location: Where job tasks are performed – ii) Timing: When job tasks are performed – iii) Hours: How much (time) is spent on job tasks – iv) Approach: How job tasks are performed
One potential intervention: Job autonomy Job autonomy – Job autonomy refers to how much freedom employees have while working. – In some organisations, autonomy may mean employees are allowed to set their own schedules. In other workplaces, autonomy means employees can decide how their work should be done. – Higher levels of autonomy tend to increase employee job satisfaction.
Does giving carers more autonomy/choice in how they do a job reduce the negative effects of caring? Job satisfaction Job ? autonomy Turnover intentions ? - Caring to work Workplace climate for Caring demands ? conflict caring + ? Negative career outcomes ? Personal well-being
Data collection and sample Data source – Carers NSW 2018 survey collects information about carers in NSW – Survey developed in consultation with expert reference committee – Topics selected based on: • Significance in current research literature • Importance in informing advocacy and support
Sample Inclusion criteria – i) was a current unpaid carer – ii) currently in a paid job (but not self-employed or an independent contractor) – iii) NSW resident Final sample – 298 employees with unpaid caring responsibilities Sample characteristics – A mean age of 51 years – 93% female – Provide an average of 59 hours of care per week. – Worked 28 hours per week on average in the health care (24%), government (20%), community/not-for-profit (18%), and Education (14%) sectors.
Predictor, mediator, moderator Caring demands ( Predictor ) – Please describe the types of support needed by the person you care for ( 1= yes, 0= no ) • 11 options: Personal care; Mobility; Communication; Cognitive or emotional assistance; Health care; Reading or writing tasks; Transport; Household cores; Property maintenance; Meal preparation; Other ( please specify ). Caring to work conflict ( Mediator ) “In the last 6 months, how often did your caring role ( 1 = ‘never’ to 5 = ‘almost always’ ) : – • Interfere with your responsibilities at work, such as getting to work on time, accomplishing daily tasks, or working overtime. • Keep you from spending the amount of time you would like on job or career activities? • Interfere with your job or career. Job autonomy ( Moderator ) – “How much do you agree with these statements?” ( 1= ‘strongly disagree’ ; 5= ‘strongly agree’ ) • My job allows me to make my own decisions about how to schedule my work. My job allows me to decide on the order in which things are done on the job. • • My job allows me to plan how I do my work.
Five outcome variables Job satisfaction “How much do you agree with these statements? ( 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 = – ‘strongly agree’ ): E.g., “All in all, I am satisfied with my job.” • Turnover intentions ( 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 = ‘strongly agree’ ): • I have seriously considered quitting my current job over the past 6 months. Workplace climate for caring “How much do you agree with these statements? ( 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 = – ‘strongly agree’ ): “The people that I work with support me to combine work and care.” • “I feel comfortable telling the people that I work with that I have caring responsibilities.” • Negative career outcomes “Which has ever applied to you as a direct result of your caring role? ( 1= ‘yes’; 0 = ‘no’) – 9 options: E.g., “I have quit my job”; “I have been denied an opportunity by an employer.” • Personal well-being “How satisfied are you with the following? ( 0 = ‘completely dissatisfied’ to 10 = – ‘completely satisfied’ ): 7 options: E.g., “Your standard of living”; “Your health”; “What you are achieving in life”. •
Findings: Caring demands affect employment outcomes Job satisfaction - Turnover intentions + Caring to work Workplace climate for Caring demands - conflict + caring + Negative career outcomes - Personal well-being
Findings: Job autonomy reduces the adverse effects of caring demands on employment outcomes Job satisfaction Job - autonomy Turnover intentions + - Caring to work Workplace climate for Caring demands - conflict + caring + Negative career outcomes - Personal well-being
Discussion and implications Discussion Caring demands are impactful if not managed well by organisations – An insight into why those impacts are experienced – – Identifying an intervention that is helpful Implications – Job characteristics – Expanding the types of family relationships that are studied – Reducing incompatibilities between work and caring Improving awareness of needs of employees with caring responsibilities – Conclusion
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