Women’s caring responsibilities as they age: assessing the Sandwich Generation’s satisfaction with life and well-being

ABSTRACT

While dual-caring responsibilities have increased for some middle-aged adults, due to caring for parents and children, limited research exists on the effects on well-being of this dual care role on working carers, and specifically with respect to women. For this ‘Sandwich Generation’, especially for those who work outside the home, these increased demands may adversely affect their life and job satisfaction, and their well-being, inclusive of their general health. The present research explored the impact of care responsibilities on the overall self-reported quality of life of women dual carers who work. It explored the usefulness of resources for working dual carers, in supporting them in their distinct roles. Employed women (N = 433, aged 23–69, M = 51.27 years) mainly from the United Kingdom and Australia completed an online structured survey. Findings indicated that higher levels of personal and work resources, in particular optimism, self-efficacy, job autonomy, skill discretion, and social support, were able to buffer deleterious outcomes, such as poor well-being (depression, anxiety, stress, negative affect), while supporting well-being (positive affect, general health), increasing job satisfaction and life satisfaction. The dual carer role was not a significant predictor of the participants’ well-being, with only the women’s general health being slightly reduced.

KEYWORDS:

• Dual carer
• Sandwich Generation
• women
• well-being
• mental health
• satisfaction with life

Acknowledgements

We thank the reviewers for their comments and suggestions for our manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Roxane Gervais

Roxane L. Gervais is a Chartered Psychologist, a Registered Occupational Psychologist, a coach and mentor. Her expertise in occupational safety and health (OSH) issues allows her to support safe and healthy work practices. Dr Gervais is a Director at Practical Psychology Consultancy Ltd. She obtained her B.Sc in Sociology (Honours) from the University of the West Indies, her M.A in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and her PhD from the University of Hull. Her professional and research areas cover the well-being of individuals within the work environment, inclusive of job stress and strain, mental health, job satisfaction, work-life balance, and diversity within the workplace that takes into account gender and generational issues. She focuses as well on leadership, work engagement, communication, flexible working and organizational change. She is an invited speaker at events; she is widely published, including co-editing an international handbook on outsourcing, and a volume on the resources, life-balance and well-being of women who work in a global context, along with an extensive number of technical reports, peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations and practitioner material.

Prudence Millear

Prudence Millear Following early tertiary education and work in agriculture in NSW and in business in QLD before, Dr Millear returned to tertiary study in 2003. She graduated with a Graduate Diploma in Psychology (2004), Bachelor in Psychology (Honours) (2005), and PhD from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) (2010). Dr Prudence Millear joined the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) in early 2011 and is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and the Psychology Honours Program Coordinator in the School of Health at UniSC. Her research interests include occupational demands across sectors and the lifespan, which include the conditions and outcomes for younger part-time employees, and women’s health, well-being, and work at all ages. She is also interested in why people move for work and retirement, and how to develop and foster supportive relationships at work. Underpinning these projects is the belief that each person is actively involved in constructing their own lives. Individuals face many challenges, to balance their work and study, family responsibilities and other interests. Her research explores the connections between each of these areas and how the characteristics of the person drive their experiences and behaviours.