Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Working Carers and Societal Well-being: insights from comparative policy analysis in six countries Teppo Kröger International Conference ‘Carers and Work-Care Reconciliation’ University of Leeds 13 August 2013

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Societal well-being Standard of living vs. quality of life Objective vs. subjective indicators (a myriad of domains and individual items) Amartya Sen: freedom & capability Happiness studies A classic definition by the Finnish sociologist Erik Allardt from the 1970s –Having –Loving –Being

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Background: WOCAWO Project WOCAWO research project (”Working Carers and Caring Workers”, Funded originally by the Academy of Finland In close co-operation with –Uni of Leeds (UK) –Stockholm Uni (SWE) –Uni of NSW (AUS) –National Yang-Ming Uni et al. (TW) –TMIG et al. (JP)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Background: WOCAWO Project Extending discussion on work-family reconciliation from childcare to other care responsibilities –Ageing parents/in-law –Disabled children (non-adult/adult) –Disabled/ill partners Combining policy document analysis and quantitative and qualitative data to understand policies as well as experiences Making comparisons both within and between three welfare regimes

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Population aged 65+ of total population, (%)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Employment rates of working age women (15-64), (%)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Employment rates of older workers, (%)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Megatrends and family care The global increase of female employment follows the idea of ”adult worker model” whereby every adult is expected to participate in paid work The same trend is seen in older workers As a result of the supermegatrend of population ageing, families are at the same time facing larger care responsibilities Two rare commodities at risk: workforce and care! Are welfare states doing anything to secure them??

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy The liberal policy response The UK was the first country to pay policy attention to the needs of carers of adults with care needs Carers were recognised in national policy on taxation and income support in the 1960s and 1970s, They became the subject of official data collection in the 1980s; and In the 1990s and 2000s, they began to acquire limited rights in national social care and employment systems in.

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy The liberal policy response Recently the policy focus in Britain has been clearly on employment rights: –2002: parents of disabled children gained ‘right to request’ flexible working. –2004: LAs must consider carers’ wish to work in assessments. –2006: right to request flexible working extended to carers of adults. Australia has gradually followed Britain –Promoting recently flexible employment –Providing no clear rights to services (despite new Carer Recognition Act & National Carer Strategy)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy The East Asian policy response The traditional East Asian policy response to the problems of carers is: no response! Based on Confucian family values, families (aka women) take care of their members as a part of ordinary family life This principle is still stated in the Japanese and Taiwanese Civil Code However, an expectation that women would be willing to sacrifice their professional lives to take up unpaid caring, does not hold anymore in Japan or Taiwan

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy The East Asian policy response Japan made a massive policy turn in its LTC policy from non-action to universal coverage through its 2000 LTCI Act This did not bring specific support to carers but it recognised that the state has a major responsibility for organising and financing care for older people (incl. home care) Rights of parents of young children have been extended to carers in Japan (incl. a 93-day-per-year paid family care leave) Taiwan has been slower in its policy development but is now planning LTCI

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy The Nordic policy response The Nordic welfare states were a long time so focused on their formal service systems that family care remained invisible Only in the 1990s, linked to financial difficulties of welfare systems and an alarm about population ageing, carers started to receive policy attention Nowadays, there are carer payments, respite care, peer support etc. available However, these provisions still mostly depend on individual LAs/NGOs

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy The Nordic policy response Reconciliation of family care and paid employment has been recognised as an issue only in the 2010s Universal service systems are naturally a major support to carers (though their universal character has suffered recently…) But still at the moment there is almost no specific support available for working carers in any Nordic country

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Liberal carer experiences (UK)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Liberal carer experiences (AUS)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy East Asian carer experiences (TW)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy East Asian carer experiences (JP)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Nordic carer experiences (FIN)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Nordic carer experiences (SWE)

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Comparative notes (within regimes) Both Finland and Sweden have tended to ignore the needs of working carers of older parents, who lack specific support Finland offers less flexible and individual support to parent-carers than Sweden Partner-carers, again, face broadly similar conditions in both countries: lack of attention, limited personal time and large variations in the flexibility available in the workplace or in local services

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Comparative notes (within regimes) Both England and Australia have taken steps to support working carers of older people by promoting flexible working and modest unpaid emergency or care leave Both have gradually given attention to parent-carers (but not to partner-carers) However, carers’ participation in paid work is made difficult by these countries’ complex benefit systems and limited service provision

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Comparative notes (within regimes) In the past two decades, Japan has rapidly developed long-term care, care leaves and workplace support for carers. These have helped carers of parents as well as carers of disabled children. Comparable policy steps are under discussion in Taiwan but not yet enacted. Some formal services are available in Taiwan but primarily families turn to informal networks and migrant care workers.

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Comparative notes (between regimes) Despite many differences, all six states –now expect disability, illness and extreme old age to be ever-present features of their societies –recognise the importance of enabling women (and men) to participate in paid work –are beginning to reshape their social arrangements and systems accordingly

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Comparative notes (between regimes) All six states now provide at least some support for some family carers –Some limited employment rights and flexibility –Modest financial support or compensation –Some types of respite care and other support services

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Societal well-being (Allardt) Having –Income –Housing –Employment –Education –Health Loving –Local community –Family –Friendships Being –Status –Irreplaceability –Political resources –Meaningful free time

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Caring and well-being Caring is about Having –Income: carers face a high poverty risk, esp. without work –Housing: caring places specific requirements on housing –Employment: carers need to be supported to be able to stay in work –Education: carers’ professional education is a major investment –Health: health costs of caring have to be eradicated Caring is about Loving –Local community: social participation is a human right, also for carers –Family: caring out of emotional attachment instead of moral obligation –Friendships: friends give support, not to be expected to provide caring Caring is about Being –Status: recognition as a working carer –Irreplaceability: care is based on unique human relations –Political resources: carers are citizens and voters –Meaningful free time: more to life than caring and working?

Dept of Social Sciences & Philosophy Conclusion Despite above-mentioned positive developments, most family carers in all six nations still care without support and bear the pressure of work– care reconciliation at the individual level – their well-being continues to be seriously threatened, which then jeopardizes the well- being of their families and the well-being of our societies More action is needed if the availability of workforce and the availability of care are to be secured in our countries!

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