Perceptions and Experiences of Caregiver-Employees, Employers, and Health Care Professionals With Caregiver-Friendly Workplace Policy in Hong Kong: Thematic Analysis.

Abstract

Background: Caregiver-employees (CEs) for older adults experience a high burden to fulfill their dual roles. Caregiver-friendly workplace policy (CFWP) has been used in many countries to balance employment and caregiving duties, but it is a relatively new concept in Hong Kong.

Objective: This study explored the views and experiences of CEs, employers, and health care professionals regarding CFWP (specifically for older adult caregivers) in Hong Kong.

Methods: This study explored the CFWP-related views and experiences in Hong Kong using 15 in-depth interviews with purposively sampled CEs for older adults, employers, and health care professionals.

Results: Two context-related themes ("lacking leadership" and "unfavorable culture") were identified with thematic analysis. They explain the absence of CFWP in Hong Kong due to the lack of governmental and organizational leadership, and the additional burden experienced by CEs because of the working culture that underpins work-life separation, overprizing business interest, and unsympathetic corporate attitude. Implicit voice theory was applicable in explaining CEs' nondisclosure about their status at work due to potential risks. In addition, the two facilitation-related themes ("role struggle" and "inadequate support") identified in this study exhibit how the dual role had positive and negative spillover effects on each other and the inadequacy of social welfare and health care support systems.

Conclusions: We strongly recommend exploring and adopting potential CFWP in Hong Kong, considering the complexity of factors identified in this study.