THE SANDWICHED GENERATION: MULTIPLE CAREGIVING RESPONSIBILITIES AND THE MISMATCH BETWEEN ACTUAL AND PREFERRED WORK HOURS

Abstract

We examine the intersection of the “Overworked American” and the “Sandwiched Generation.” Recent studies indicate that many U.S. workers would prefer to work shorter hours. For workers who are sandwiched between childcare and eldercare or who expect to be in the future, questions remain about work hour preferences. We use a representative sample and distinguish between currently sandwiched workers and those who expect to be in five years. The proportion of workers who are currently sandwiched has increased from 1992 to 2002. Further, workers who expect to be sandwiched are less likely to want to reduce their workweek hours than others.

The authors wish to thank Jill Quadagno, Lori Parham, Chardie Baird, and Patricia Voydanoff for advice on this paper and Dana Maher for research assistance. This research was supported by a UNLV New Investigator Award.

Notes

∗p ≤ .05, ∗∗p ≤ .01, ∗∗∗p ≤ .001.

^a Eldercare situation variables apply only to workers who report that they are currently providing care for a parent, in-law, or grandparent.

^b Parental situation variables apply only to workers with children under 18 living in the home.

∗p ≤ .05, ∗∗p ≤ .01, ∗∗∗p ≤ .001.

^a The reference category is no difference between actual and preferred work hours.

Note: Probabilities were calculated using coefficients from the multinomial regression model with control variables set to their means.

Please note that the authors contributed equally to this paper.