Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Value Health. 2023 May;26(5):712-720. doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2022.06.014. Epub 2022 Aug 13.
Although nearly half of all family and unpaid caregivers to older adults work, little is known about short-term work impacts of caregiving using measures encompassing both missed work time and reduced productivity while physically at work. We quantify the prevalence, costs, and correlates of caregiving-related work productivity loss.
We used the 2015 National Study of Caregiving and National Health and Aging Trends Study to estimate caregiving-related work absences (absenteeism) and reduced productivity while at work (presenteeism). We calculated costs of lost productivity using hours lost, compensation, and a wage multiplier, accounting for the additional cost of replacing employee time. We examined correlates of caregiving-related absenteeism and presenteeism separately, using multivariable logistic regression models, adjusting for caregiver sociodemographic characteristics, occupation and hours worked, role overload, older adult health, use of respite care, support groups, flexible workplace schedules, help from family or friends, and caregiver training.
Nearly 1 in 4 (23.3%) of the estimated 8.8 million employed family caregivers reported either absenteeism or presenteeism over a 1-month period owing to caregiving. Among those affected, caregiving reduced work productivity by one-third on average-or an estimated $5600 per employee when annualized across all employed caregivers-primarily because of reduced performance while present at work. Productivity loss was higher among caregivers of older adults with significant care needs and varied according to sociodemographic characteristics and caregiver supports.
Findings emphasize the potential economic value of targeted policy intervention to support working caregivers.
尽管近一半的老年家庭成员和无薪酬照护者都有工作，但对于照护对工作的短期影响（包括因照护而缺勤和工作时生产力下降），我们知之甚少，这些影响的衡量标准既包括工作时间的损失，也包括工作时的生产力损失。我们量化了与照护相关的工作生产力损失的发生率、成本和相关因素。
我们使用 2015 年国家照护研究和国家健康与老龄化趋势研究来估计与照护相关的工作缺勤（旷工）和工作时生产力下降（出勤但工作效率低下）。我们使用损失的工作时间、薪酬和工资乘数来计算生产力损失的成本，考虑到替代员工时间的额外成本。我们分别使用多变量逻辑回归模型来检查照护相关旷工和出勤效率低下的相关因素，调整了照护者的社会人口统计学特征、职业和工作时间、角色过载、老年人体健康、使用临时护理、支持小组、灵活的工作时间安排、来自家庭或朋友的帮助以及照护者培训。
由于照护原因，估计有 880 万在职家庭照护者中，近 1/4（23.3%）的人在一个月内出现过旷工或出勤效率低下的情况。在受影响的人群中，照护平均使工作生产力下降了三分之一，或估计每位员工每年因生产力下降而损失 5600 美元，这主要是因为工作时的工作表现下降。生产力损失在有较高照护需求的老年照护者的照护者中更高，并且根据社会人口统计学特征和照护者支持而有所不同。
这些发现强调了有针对性的政策干预措施以支持在职照护者的潜在经济价值。
