The Complexities of Family Caregiving at Work: A Mixed-Methods Study

The current project examined the impact of caregiving and caregiving–work conflict on employees’ well-being. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design (QUAN→qual) was utilized, and a total of 880 employees from a large health-care plan employer completed an online survey. Forty-five caregivers who completed the survey also participated in one of the five focus groups held 1 to 2 months later. Employed caregivers were significantly (p <.05) more likely to indicate poorer physical and mental health than noncaregivers; among caregivers (n = 370), caregiving–work conflict emerged as the most significant predictor of well-being and fully mediated the empirical relationship between burden and well-being. The focus group findings complemented the quantitative results; many of the challenges employed caregivers experience stem from their ability or inability to effectively balance their employment and caregiving roles. The results suggest the need to focus on caregiving–work conflict when constructing new or translating existing evidence-based caregiver interventions.