Understanding the association between time spent caregiving and well-being among employed adults: testing a model of work–life fit and sense of community

ABSTRACT

This study examines factors associated with work–life fit and sense of geographic community as mediators of the negative association between caregiving demands and well-being among employed informal caregivers. Data were drawn from a larger project assessing well-being among residents of three mid-size cities in Ontario, Canada. A subsample was selected of informal caregivers who worked for pay for at least eight hours/week (n = 276). Caregiving demands were measured by time spent caring for an adult who was a relative, friend, or neighbour. Well-being followed a holistic conceptualization advanced by the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. The more time spent caregiving, the lower participants’ well-being ratings were. This association was mediated by perceived time adequacy, income adequacy, and sense of community, such that the more time participants spent caregiving, the lower their ratings of these three resources. This explained the initial association of caregiving hours with reduced well-being. Enhanced well-being was more strongly associated with sense of community than any other factor, which supports the importance of the community domain in understanding well-being among employed caregivers and suggests its further testing with other population groups. Policy implications for employers and community organizations are provided.

RÉSUMÉ

Cette étude examine les facteurs associés à l'équilibre travail-vie et au sens de la communauté géographique en tant que médiateurs de l'association négative entre les exigences de la prestation de soins et le mieux-être chez les aidants naturels occupant un emploi. Les données ont été tirées d'un projet plus vaste évaluant le mieux-être chez les résidents de trois villes de taille moyenne de l'Ontario, au Canada. On a sélectionné un sous-échantillon d'aidants naturels qui occupaient un emploi rémunéré à raison d'au moins huit heures par semaine (n = 276). Les exigences de la prestation de soins ont été mesurées par temps consacré à prendre soin d'un adulte qui était un parent, un ami ou un voisin. Le mieux-être suivait une conceptualisation holistique avancée par l'Indice canadien du mieux-être. Plus on consacrait de temps à la prestation de soins, plus les taux de mieux-être des participants étaient faibles. Cette association était modulée par la suffisance de temps, la suffisance de revenu et le sens de la communauté perçus, de sorte que plus les participants consacraient de temps à la prestation de soins, plus leurs taux relatifs à ces trois ressources étaient faibles. Cela expliquait l'association initiale entre les heures de prestation de soins et le mieux-être réduit. Le mieux-être accru était plus fortement associé au sens de la communauté qu'à tout autre facteur, ce qui confirme l'importance du domaine communautaire dans la compréhension du mieux-être chez les aidants occupant un emploi et donne à penser à des essais futurs avec d'autres groupes de population. L'étude mentionne les incidences que ces constatations peuvent avoir sur les politiques des employeurs et des organismes communautaires

KEYWORDS:

• Employed caregiver
• informal caregiving
• well-being
• sense of community
• work–life fit
• caregiving time

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Aidant occupant un emploi
• aidant naturel
• mieux-être
• sens de la communauté
• équilibre travail-vie
• temps de prestation de soins

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Margo Hilbrecht is the Associate Director of Research for the CIW and a Research Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo. Her research interests centre on workplace policies and practices in relation to gendered experiences of time use, leisure, caregiving, and well-being.

Donna Lero is a Professor in Family Relations and Applied Nutrition at the University of Guelph and is the Jarislowsky Chair in Families and Work. She co-founded the University's Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being, where she leads a programme of research on public policies, workplace practices, and community supports.

Emily Schryer is a postdoctoral fellow at the RBC Retirement Research Centre at the University of Waterloo. Her research examines sociocultural factors that influence successful adaption to ageing, including compensatory strategy use, social support, emotional self-regulation, and stereotypes about ageing.

Steven Mock is a developmental psychologist with research interests in the areas of ageing and retirement, coping with stigmatization, sexual minority adult development, and leisure as a coping resource. Dr Mock is also the recipient of an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation to support research on retirement planning among diverse family forms.

Bryan Smale is the Director of the CIW and a Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, both at the University of Waterloo. His research interests include the role of leisure in the well-being of individuals and communities, leisure as a coping resource, the spatial distribution and analysis of leisure in communities, time use allocation, and social indicators research.