Informal Care and Employment (VIC2008–Employment)

City of Vienna

„Informal Care and Employment” (in short: “VIC2008-Employment”) is a sub-project of the “Vienna Informal Carer Study 2008” (VIC2008) that is conducted by the Research Institute for Economics of Aging / Vienna University of Economics and Business.

One third of all informal carers in Austria is also gainfully employed and, herewith, confronted with the double burden of care work and employment. With ageing societies, increasing labour market participation among women and generally prolonged labour market participation even more people will face that challenge in the future.

There is consensus in the literature that informal care work influences professional life. Nevertheless, there is a lack of information on the economic consequences of combining care work and employment, in particular in terms of consequences arising in the employment sphere/ the workplace.

Aims of the project “VIC2008-Employment”: The project, undertaken by the Research Institute for Economics of Aging, attempts to

* identify factors that determine double commitments in informal care and employment,
* outline current solutions of juggling care and employment, and
* quantify economic consequences for the employment sphere.


Methods of the project “VIC2008-Employment”:

* Qualitative data analyses : semi-structured interviews with informal carers combining care work and employment outside the household

* Quantitative data analyses: VIC2008 (Data from the “Vienna Informal Carer Study 2008”) and mail interviewing of employed persons in Vienna