Combining Paid Work and Family Care
Policies and Experiences in International Perspective
Edited by Teppo Kröger and Sue Yeandle
Published
Oct 15, 2014Page count
264 pagesISBN
978-1447306825Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Apr 30, 2013Page count
264 pagesISBN
978-1447306818Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Oct 15, 2014Page count
264 pagesISBN
978-1447320470Imprint
Policy PressPublished
Oct 15, 2014Page count
264 pagesISBN
978-1447320487Imprint
Policy PressAs populations age around the world, increasing efforts are required from both families and governments to secure care and support for older and disabled people.At the same time both women and men are expected to increase and lengthen their participation in paid work, which makes combining caring and working a burning issue for social and employment policy and economic sustainability.
International discussion about the reconciliation of work and care has previously focused mostly on childcare. Combining paid work and family care widens the debate, bringing into discussion the experiences of those providing support to their partners, older relatives and disabled or seriously ill children. The book analyses the situations of these working carers in Nordic, liberal and East Asian welfare systems. Highlighting what can be learned from individual experiences, the book analyses the changing welfare and labour market policies which shape the lives of working carers in Finland, Sweden, Australia, England, Japan and Taiwan.
"Providing knowledge of the conditions of working carers that has relevance for the development of policies all over the globe." British Journal of Social Work
"Highlight[s] the policy lessons to be learned from experiences of the reconciliation of work and care in various contexts." Work, Employment and Society
"The clear, readable presentation of the large volume of data should win it a place on reading lists for undergraduate and graduate courses on social policy, citizenship and politics." People, Place and Policy
"The book is structured well, easy to read and follow. It aims to provide comment, knowledge and insight into the reconciliation of employed work, services carers can access, financial assistance, rights and entitlements in employment" - British Journal of Social Work, Marietjie Joubert
"The collection offers empirical insights that one will not find elsewhere" - Journal of Social Policy
"This book is a superb collection of articles on the interconnection between the private sphere of family life, and public employment." Women's Studies Association Newsletter
"The international and intergenerational dimensions in this book add to our understanding of the complex negotiations between work and home life. Set in the context of changing labour markets and welfare states Sue Yeandle and Teppo Kröger have produced an excellent book which will be invaluable to academics and policy makers alike in addressing an increasing societal challenge of combining paid work and family care. It is a timely book written by leading authorities in this area." Professor Judith Phillips, Swansea University
“Kröger and Yeandle have brought together leading researchers from across the globe to produce a landmark volume on the conflicts experienced between family care and employment. This is the most comprehensive international comparative study yet produced and will surely become the benchmark by which policies and policy research in the new century will be measured.” Michael Fine, Adjunct Professor, Macquarie University, Australia
Teppo Kröger is Professor of Social and Public Policy at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, where he studies ageing, disability, informal and formal care as well as childcare from local, national and international perspectives.
Sue Yeandle is Professor of Sociology at the University of Leeds, UK, where she researches the relationship between work and family life, employment and social policies relevant to work-care reconciliation, and the gendered organisation of work.
Reconciling work and care: an international analysis ~ Teppo Kröger and Sue Yeandle;
The emergence of policy supporting working carers: developments in six countries ~ Sue Yeandle, Teppo Kröger et al;
Part One: Working carers of older people;
Family rediscovered? Working carers of older people in Finland and Sweden ~ Outi Jolanki, Marta Szebehely and Kaisa Kauppinen;
Working carers of older people: steps toward securing adequate support in Australia and England? ~ Sue Yeandle and Bettina Cass;
Struggling for recognition: working carers of older people in Japan and Taiwan ~ Frank T.Y. Wang, Masaya Shimmei, Yoshiko Yamada and Machiko Osawa;
Part Two: Working parent-carers of disabled children;
Parent-carers of disabled children in Finland and Sweden: socially excluded by a labour of love ~ Sonja Miettinen, Kristina Engwall and Antti Teittinen;
Reconciling work and care for parent-carers of disabled children in Australia and England: uncertain progress ~ Sue Yeandle and kylie valentine;
Parent-carers in Taiwan and Japan: lifelong caring responsibilities within a familistic welfare system ~ Yueh-Ching Chou, Toshiko Nakano, Heng-Hao Chang and Li-Fang Liang;
Part Three: Working partner-carers;
Reconciling partner-care and paid work in Finland and Sweden: challenges and coping strategies ~ Anu Leinonen and Ann-Britt Sand;
'In sickness and in health' and beyond: reconciling work and care for a partner in Australia and England ~ Gary Fry, Cathy Thomson and Trish Hill; Partner-care in the East Asian system: combining paid work and caring in Taiwan and Japan ~ Mei-Chun Liu and Machiko Osawa;
Conclusions:
Reconciling work and care for older parents, disabled children and partners: convergent or separate paths in three welfare systems? ~ Sue Yeandle and Teppo Kröger.