Help to older parents and parents-in-law: does paid employment constrain women's helping behaviour?

While concern has been expressed for some time about the impact of rising female employment on informal help to older adults, few studies have directly compared employed and not-employed women and only rarely has research utilized national, population-based samples. This article examines whether paid employment reduces the provision and/or the intensity of specific types of help offered by women to older parents and parents-in-law. Data were drawn from the 1996 General Social Survey of Canada and consist of a sub-sample of women aged 40 to 64 who had at least one parent or parent-in-law alive. The independent variable is employment status (full-time, part-time, not employed). Dependent variables are type of help (meal preparation, cleaning, home maintenance, grocery shopping, transportation, banking and money management, personal care) and intensity of help. Two additional types of help examined are emotional support and checking up or monitoring. The analysis shows that employed daughters and daughters-in-law are less likely than those who are not employed to provide help with banking or bill paying but no differences are found on other types of help. Employment status is not significantly related to the total amount of time spent helping older parents and parents-in-law, although not-employed women spend more time helping with meal preparation. Women employed part-time are less likely to provide emotional support to a parent or parent-in-law. There are no differences by employment status in the likelihood of checking up on or monitoring the parent's or parent-in-law's situation. It is concluded that, on the whole, in the domains measured in this study, employment does not reduce women's provision of help to parents and parents-in-law.

Reflexive planning for later life.

Informed by Giddens' (1991) concept of reflexive life planning and the notion of later life as a time of increasing social and financial risk, this research explores the idea of reflexive planning for later life. We utilize a conceptual model that incorporates three types of planning for later life: public protection, self-insurance, and self-protection. Drawing on qualitative, life-history data from a study of 51 mid-life and older Canadians, we examined whether individuals recognized the risks associated with later life, and if so, how far these recognitions entered into the preparations people made for their futures. We also considered how social circumstances facilitate and/or constrain an individual's planning for later life. Overall, most participants recognized risks and engaged in reflexive planning. On the other hand, there was a small group of non-planners, or day-by-dayers who were getting by with little preparation. We suggest that what distinguishes these groups is that the former have a future time perspective, which is associated with certain socio-demographic characteristics, including high household incomes.

The interplay between women's life course work patterns and financial planning for later life.

In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between women's life course work patterns and their financial planning for later life, we examined data from semi-structured interviews with retired women (n = 28) aged 59 to 92. The majority of women disrupted their careers at some point in time, for an average of 14 years, primarily for child-rearing responsibilities. We found that financial preparedness and income security in later life are structured by women's life course work patterns. However, individuals also have the ability to shape their own lives and many of the women took the initiative to acquire financial knowledge irrespective of their work situation. Financial-planning advice that participants gave to future generations of older women was also explored and centred on the importance of saving, avoiding debt, maintaining financial independence, and planning ahead.

Working in clients' homes: the impact on the mental health and well-being of visiting home care workers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of working in clients' homes on the mental health and well-being of visiting home care workers. This paper reports the results of a survey of 674 visiting staff from three non-profit home care agencies in a medium-sized city in Ontario, Canada. Survey results are also complimented by data from 9 focus groups with 50 employees. For purposes of this study, home care workers include visiting therapists, nurses, and home support workers. Mental health and well-being is measured by three dependent variables: stress; job stress; and intrinsic job satisfaction. Multiple least squared regression analyses show several structural, emotional, physical, and organizational working conditions associated with the health and well-being of visiting home care workers. Overall, results show that workload, difficult clients, clients who take advantage of workers, sexual harassment, safety hazards, a repetitious job, and work-related injuries are associated with poorer health. Being fairly paid, having good benefits, emotional labour, organizational support, control over work, and peer support are associated with better health. Results suggest that policy change is needed to encourage healthier work environments for employees who work in clients' homes.