Connections amid caregiving stress: Informal caregiver employee stress, work outcomes and the role of relational coordination

Authors

• Alankrita Pandey, Eastern Michigan University
• Jillian Graves, Eastern Michigan University
• Christina N. Marsack-Topolewski, Eastern Michigan University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Department/School

Management

Publication Title

Journal of Managerial Issues

Abstract

A mixed-methods approach employing a quantitative and a qualitative study was used to assess the impact of caregiving stress on workplace outcomes such as task behaviors, extrarole behaviors, counterproductive work behaviors, intent to leave, and negative affective wellbeing for 255 informal caregivers of young children, adult children with special needs or disabilities, caregivers of aging parents and spouses with disabilities who also provided informal care to family members. The research employs a mixed-methods approach using quantitative methods to test the hypotheses and qualitative methods to examine informal caregiving, working while being an informal caregiver, and essential relationships for caregivers in richer detail, understanding their motivations and drivers using the justification for mixed-methods research (Christofi et al., 2021; Lo et al., 2020; MolinaAzorín and López-Gamero, 2016) The Conservation of Resources Theory (Farkash et al., 2022; Hobfoll, 2011) and the broader Individual, Group, Leadership, and Organization (IGLO) framework of demands and resources (Day and Nielsen, 2017; Nielsen and Christensen, 2021; Nielsen et al., 2017) are used to build a framework connecting caregiver strain with immediate work outcomes like task performance, extra-role performance, and longer-term outcomes such as intent to leave and negative job affect. According to the COR, stress disrupts employees' ability to perform prescribed tasks because it strips them of the energy resources necessary (Hobfoll et al., 2018). Informal caregivers of children with disabilities experience isolation and stigma (Faw and Leustak, 2015), while caregivers of older family members experience mental, physical, emotional, and financial stress (Kepic et al., 2019).

Comments

A. Pandey is a faculty member in EMU's Department of Management.

J. Graves and C. N. Marsack-Topolewski are faculty members in EMU's School of Social Work.

Recommended Citation

Pandey, A., Graves, J., & Marsack-Topolewski, C. N. (2024). Connections amid caregiving stress: Informal caregiver employee stress, work outcomes and the role of relational coordination. Journal of Managerial Issues, 36(4), 272–290.