Balancing elder care responsibilities and work: two empirical studies.

It was hypothesized that workers with elder care responsibilities, compared with noncaregiving workers, would be more likely to suffer physical symptoms of stress and to be absent more days. In Study 1, 67 (32 noncaregivers, 35 caregivers) employees of a financial institution were interviewed. In Study 2, 169 (118 noncaregivers, 51 caregivers) employees of a health care institution completed a questionnaire. In Study 1, caregivers were absent more days than noncaregivers, and caregiver status was related to the incidence of weight loss or gain, drowsiness, and inability to sleep. In Study 2, caregiver status was related to the incidence of weight loss or gain, drowsiness, inability to sleep, frequent headaches, and nervousness. Caregivers were not significantly different from noncaregivers in absenteeism. Results indicate that caregivers' responsibilities may negatively affect work performance.