Employee Anxiety about Care Responsibilities and Workplace Conditions for Reducing Anxiety

Abstract

The rapid aging of Japan’s population continues apace, bringing with it a rise in the number of people leaving the workforce to care for family members and an increasing interest among personnel management in making it possible for employees to perform both work and elder care duties. This paper analyzes the results of a survey asking what support corporations and workplaces must offer in order to allow workers to reduce the anxiety about caregiving duties and whether they will be able to keep their jobs. The survey analysis highlighted the following points:

First, the number of employees who are currently responsible for providing care is more than 10 percent of those in their 50s. However, measures to support working caregivers, including family care leave, are very rarely utilized. With nearly one third of male employees not even discussing their care duties with their employers, it is possible corporations and workplaces are not sufficiently aware of the employees who bear such responsibilities. Many corporations treat the work/care balance issue as a consideration for the future, but they must take into account the some employees who are already shouldering care responsibilities and tackle the issue today. Furthermore, work/care support measures are underutilized, and even when a system is implemented, it is often not being used effectively.

Secondly, many employees indicate that even if they do not currently care for a family member, they are anxious about the possibility of having to do so in the future. Less than 30 percent of employees believe they can continue working at their current company once they assume the role of family caretaker. However, with 90 percent of employees wishing to continue in their jobs, there is a significant gap between employee hopes and prospects. If they do continue working, few employees claim that they will “make use of the leave system to provide family care for oneself,” whereas the majority say that they will “balance both work and caregiving by using flexible working systems while continuing to work as usually as possible”. Many employees want to stay in their jobs and continue working without taking long leaves. An examination of work/care support measures reveals that devising a diverse working style that would allow employees to fulfill their work responsibilities while also carrying out their family care duties is even more essential than increasing the length of family care leave.

Finally, I discuss what is necessary to reduce the anxiety employees feel about caregiving duties and whether they will be able to keep their jobs. I found that a thorough understanding of the work/care support measures in place at one’s workplace is connected to one’s prospects of being able to continue in one’s current position. To achieve this goal, corporations must first introduce work/care support measures and promote employee understanding of the benefits they provide. Initiatives at the workplace level above and beyond these support systems, including comprehension in one’s workplace and adequate work management and task assignment, are needed to reduce anxiety about future care responsibilities and give employees the prospect of continuing in their positions even while providing family care. In particular, a workplace atmosphere where employees can discuss family care goes a long way toward reducing anxiety about caregiving and one’s prospects of continuing in one’s position.