Care roles and employment decision-making

The effect of economic circumstance
JournalJournal of Industrial Relations
AuthorsTherese Jefferson, Gill Lewin, Rachel Ong ViforJ, Rhonda Sharp
PublishedNovember 2015
PublisherSage
DOI10.1177/0022185615590906
ISSN0022-1856 (print) 1472-9296 (online)
Number of Pages665-685
Volume57 (5)

This article uses data from a panel of Australian mature-age women to examine the effects of care roles on workers’ intentions to leave their jobs. We focus on how the employment effects of care roles can be shaped by the economic circumstances of the worker. We find that caring for an ill, frail or disabled family member has significantly lower effects on the turnover intentions of mature-age women with ‘poor’ (as compared to favourable) economic circumstances. We interpret this pattern as reflecting the financial costs associated with the provisioning of these types of family care needs.