Caregiver burden, job stress, and coping strategies in work–family conflict among sandwiched caregivers in long-term care settings: A cross-sectional study

Background

Longer life expectancy, along with the delay of marriage and childbearing, has led to an increase in the number of sandwiched caregivers. Employees who are responsible for both childcare and eldercare are more likely to experience work- and caregiving-related stress, which can result in work–family conflict. However, sandwiched caregivers who adopt caregiving-related coping strategies may experience lower conflict between work and family. This exploratory study aimed to investigate the associations of caregiver burden, job stress, and coping strategies with work–family conflict among sandwiched caregivers, and to examine whether caregiving-related coping strategies are associated with lower such conflict.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. The study participants were 72 sandwiched caregivers working in long-term care settings in Japan. All participants had at least one parent aged 65 years or older and were rearing at least one child younger than 18 years. Simple linear regression analysis was performed to assess the associations of work-to-family and family-to-work conflict with caregiver characteristics, caregiving tasks, caregiver burden, job stress, and caregiving-related coping strategies.

Results

Greater caregiver burden and job overload were both commonly associated with work-to-family and family-to-work conflict. In addition, having caregiving-related strategies and behaviors in seeking assistance from others was associated with lower work-to-family conflict.

Conclusion

Individual coping strategies alone may not be sufficient to promote caregiver well-being. Therefore, maintaining social connections for formal and informal support, as well as implementing flextime or providing a flexible workplace for family-supportive practices, may also be necessary.