The Quiet Cost of Family Caregiving

Shawn French, 51, a video game writer in Limerick, Me., and his wife welcomed her widowed father into their home three years ago. Because Mr. French works remotely, he can help his father-in-law with meals, medications and mobility; his wife handles doctors visits and other tasks.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Mr. French said. But the stress led him to relinquish weekend freelancing that had generated $200 to $300 a week. “We relied on it anytime things were a little tight,” he said. His wife reconfigured her work arrangement, too, which led to him being dropped from her health plan and becoming uninsured.

Even when caregivers keep their jobs, another recent study indicates, almost one-quarter report either missed work (absenteeism) or reduced productivity (known as presenteeism).

Presenteeism accounts for the most productivity loss, said senior author Jennifer Wolff, a gerontologist and health services researcher at Johns Hopkins University. “Absenteeism is visible, presenteeism is less so,” she said. “You show up, but you’re making doctor calls or managing insurance.”

Among affected employees, work productivity dropped by one-third, on average. Based on 2015 data, the most recent available on adults 65 and older, that translates to a $49 billion loss annually.

Paid family leave, although better configured for the more predictable needs of new parents, might help workers providing care for the elderly as well. When California adopted paid leave, which took effect in 2004, residency rates at nursing homes declined by about 11 percent, Dr. Wolf of Syracuse and his co-author Kanika Arora found.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/04/science/elderly-work-caregiving.html