Exploring what makes it likely for adult children with an irregular job to turn over in the face of parent care responsibilities: With focus on preparedness for the caregiver role

• Project/Area Number: 17K13867
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Osaka City University (2020); Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Institute of Gerontology (2017-2019)
• Principal Investigator: Hirayama Ryo 大阪市立大学, 大学院文学研究科, 准教授 (10728075)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2020)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,030,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥930,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
• Keywords: 介護離職 / 非正規雇用 / ジェンダー / 家族介護 / きょうだい

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Focusing on informational and social-relational resources for employees to juggle work and parent care responsibilities, my aim in this study was to explore whether and how the availability of such resources might differ by employment status (i.e., regular or irregular employment) as well as employees’ gender. Results of online survey indicated that women have a greater level of informational and social-relational resources than men do regardless of employment status, suggesting that women’s higher probability of leaving their job in the face of informal care responsibility for aging family members does not necessarily mean their limited availability of necessary information and workplace support to continue to work while caring for their parents.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の意義は二点ある。一つは、親の介護未経験の就業者が、介護が始まった際の「仕事と介護の両立」に必要な資源をどの程度持っているかを示すことで、就業者が介護をしながら働き続けることを支える施策について考えるための基礎情報を提供している点である。もう一つは、介護離職リスクが高い層は必ずしも支援制度の知識が少ないわけでもなく、また、職場内のサポートが得られにくいわけでもないことを示すことで、制度に関する情報の周知や職場のサポート体制づくりを促す啓発を中心としたこれまでの施策の有効性を議論することができた点である。

Research Products

• [Presentation] Nontraditional Views? How Siblings Matter for Perceived Parental Care Responsibility in Japan (2019)
  • Author(s): Ryo Hirayama, Tomoko Wakui
  • Organizer: Gerontological Society of America 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] "What Counts is Not My Own But Siblings' Circumstances": Adult Children's Perceived Responsibility for Parental Care in Japan (2019)
  • Author(s): Ryo Hirayama, Tomoko Wakui
  • Organizer: 2019 National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] What makes men reluctant to share care experiences with peers? A case of Japanese son caregivers. (2018)
  • Author(s): Ryo Hirayama
  • Organizer: International Conference on Communication in Healthcare 2018
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Unmanageable responsibility? Gendered perceptions of parent care among adult children at working age in Japan (2018)
  • Author(s): Ryo Hirayama, Tomoko Wakui
  • Organizer: 71st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America
  • Int'l Joint Research