Work

Care Workers in English Care Homes: Managing Commodification, Motivations, and Caring Ideals

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: This article explores the nature of paid caring labor, based on a study of paid care assistants in care homes for older people in England. Drawing from critical studies of work as well as perspectives on gender, care, and family, the aim is to see how the workers deliver care in their employment settings and consider the implications. The findings indicate that, in jobs which typically underpay and where the conditions of work are demanding, these workers are driven by ideals of “good care,” “good caring,” and “good carers.” Such ideals, which are as much personal as professional, sometimes force them to trade-off loyalty to residents and their own interests. One cannot understand the nature of paid care without understanding the workers who do it, and understanding the workers means reaching deep into familial, economic, and social structures that reproduce paid care as a commodified form of unpaid care.

Source: Social Politics International Studies in Gender State & Society

DOI: 10.1093/sp/jxad012

Author: Mary Daly

Institution: University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes

Subfield: General Health Professions

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,261