Accommodating Care Across the Life Course

In this chapter, we examine care as a central pillar of an organisation’s approach to managing a multigenerational workforce and what a care-inclusive workplace looks like. We begin by considering the data on the prevalence and nature of unpaid care in later life, challenging the notion that unpaid care is only done by younger workers for their dependent children. We then explore the ways in which care-inclusive policies and practices are expanding in organisations, from a narrow focus on leave and flexibility for parents to the full range of workplace supports that people providing care for different groups may require at different points in the life course. Drawing on survey and qualitative data from our case study organisations (CSOs), we reveal how the extent and nature of workers’ care responsibilities vary by age and gender. We examine workers’ experiences of work interference with family life, a family supportive workplace environment and care-inclusive culture, and care-inclusive practices, and how these differ by age and gender. Finally, the chapter reveals the importance of care-inclusive workplaces on four key outcomes: turnover intentions, worker burnout, work engagement, and job satisfaction. We conclude with examples of innovative care-inclusive practices that create workplaces that enable workers across all age groups to successfully reconcile work and care.