Dynamics of Social Care and Paid Work in Mid-Life

Maria Evandrou, University of Southampton
Jane C. Falkingham, University of Southampton
Madelín Gómez-León, University of Southampton
Athina Vlachantoni, University of Southampton

The impact of caring responsibilities on carers’ employment has been extensively researched from a cross-sectional perspective and focusing on women, evidencing an inverse relationship between caring and one’s attachment to the labour market. Using the National Child Development Survey, this paper investigates transitions in employment and caring status of a cohort of individuals born in Britain in 1958, aged between 46 and 50 years. Logistic regression is used to investigate the impact of transitions into and out of a caring role in mid-life for one’s parents/parents-in-laws on the probability of ceasing/reducing one’s employment, controlling for the carers’ socio-demographic characteristics. Findings show that 21% of males and 33% of females provided social care to their parents/parents-in-laws at least once at ages 46 or 50, with a higher propensity of reducing their working hours among females, continuous carers and intensive carers. Partner’s employment status becomes significant when combining paid work and caring.

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Presented in Session 103: Connecting Exposures and Outcomes Across the Life Course