How do caring responsibilities impact working life?

As the population gets older, more people are caring for elderly or dependent family members. This type of informal care, where people help without being paid, is becoming more common and will play an even bigger role in the future. NCDS is helping to show how caring responsibilities can affect employment. 

What we asked you 

In the Age 50 and Age 55 Surveys we asked if you were providing care to your parents or parents-in-law. We also asked if you were working.  Researchers from UK and China used this information to identify 2,233 of you who were working full-time or part-time at Age 50 and were caring for parents or in-laws at both 50 and 55.

When you were age 50, we invited 220 study members to take part in special ‘in-depth’ interviews which were more open and conversational than our usual interviews. These interviews covered a range of topics, including involvement with family, friends, neighbours and their wider communities. There were 48 study members who took part in these interviews who mentioned caring for relatives.

What the researchers found 

Most carers who were working at 50 were still working the same hours at 55, but around 1 in 7 had either reduced their hours or stopped working completely.  

It’s not a chore going round to mum, it’s part of my social life… She is my friend, so it’s basically she is very, very much part of my everyday life and I don’t class it as a chore or work or anything like that… I stopped working three years ago…One, because I’d had enough, and two because Mum needed me more. (Female, married) 

Female carers who were working at 50 were significantly more likely to have reduced their working hours or stopped working altogether by 55. Carers were also more likely to have reduced or stopped working if they were single (never married) or were in poor health themselves.

During the in-depth interviews, women spoke about providing more intensive and personal care, as well as emotional support, whereas men often spoke about taking on financial responsibilities and helping with things like gardening, maintaining the house or transportation. For example, one carer who worked full-time said that he helped his parents/parents-in-law by driving them places and doing daily chores. 

I look after my father 24/7 which is Monday to Sunday’. (Female, married) 

Among those taking part in the in-depth interviews, the carers who continued working were not usually their parents’ or in-laws’ primary caregivers. In these cases, the relatives were more likely to live in a nursing home, or have a private carer or another relative giving daily support. Interviewed carers who had given up their employment altogether were more likely to live with the person they cared for, and to provide intensive care. 

I would have said I had a career in a management career, yes. But I would say I’m having a different type of career now. I would say what I’m doing now is probably more harder than what I did when I worked, although I do not get recognised for it and I do not get paid for it… Here I am doing a job that other people are doing in a community and, you know, like a home or something but I’m doing it at home so my father doesn’t go into a home, but I don’t get the same pay or recognition for what I actually do. (Female, married) 

Just over 1 in 5 carers who cut back their work hours also reported they were ‘just about getting by’ financially. Carers who were self-employed at 50 were less likely to reduce their hours or stop working compared to employees.  

I’d been used to earning the money more than having to be at home with the kids,  or doing part time work, when I suddenly wasn’t doing any of those things you start to think, well, you know, am I less of a man? (Male, married) 

I’m self-employed so I generally plan things round my family rather than my job, you know. (Male, married)

Why this research matters 

In 2019, Carers UK estimated that there were 4.87 million carers juggling work and care. Findings from NCDS shed light on which carers might be more likely to cut back on work, and the possible reasons why. 

The authors suggest that a range of policies could support carers in work, such as flexible working hours and paid care leave.  

They also noted that carers who have health issues or money problems also need more financial help to continue providing care over the long term. 

Read the full research paper 

Informal Care Provision and the Reduction of Economic Activity Among Mid-Life Carers in Great Britain – A Mixed-Methods Approach by Athina Vlachantoni, Ning Wang, Zhixin Feng and Jane Falkingham was published in April 2024 by Social Policy and Society.