This dissertation examines the multigenerational care work of the middle generation. The focus is on analysing the sociological characteristics of the sandwich generation and multigenerational care work in the Slovenian context. The theoretical framework is grounded in the ethics of care and the research design integrates quantitative and qualitative approaches. The first part of the empirical research comprises a quantitative analysis of secondary data from the ISSP survey. The second and main part comprises a qualitative study combining diaries and in-depth interviews (n = 30). The data collected through diaries and interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The analysis revealed that a significant proportion of the population is involved in care work for both younger and older generations. Key dimensions of multigenerational care work, apart from physical caregiving tasks, include responsibility work and cognitive labour, as well as emotion work. An important aspect, particularly in relation to care work for older adults, is body work, which is intertwined with emotion work. A crucial aspect of understanding and attributing responsibility for care is the mutuality or reciprocity of care. It also pertains to the collective level, which the dissertation further addresses through the analysis of care between the family and the state. In addition to care for children and older adults, self-care also represents an important dimension of multigenerational care work. The analysis of balancing different roles and burdens focuses on the prevailing time management strategies, the characteristics of reconciling care and paid work, the coordination of different family and care roles, and the impact of the associated burdens. It highlights the importance of the relational aspects of care responsibilities and the contextual nature of care work. The scientific contribution is primarily empirical; the research provides a comprehensive analysis of previously unexplored sociological characteristics of multigenerational care work and the sandwich generation in Slovenia. The theoretical contribution situates multigenerational care work within the framework of care ethics, and additionally grounds the little-researched dimension of self-care, as well as expands the concept of care responsibilities. The methodological contribution lies in the approach to combining qualitative methods, conducted and reflected upon in the empirical part. From a policy perspective, important findings pertain to the (un)availability and (in)accessibility of long-term care services.
|
