The Cost of Unpaid Caregiving: Emotion Work in Informal Caregiving
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2025-06-26
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en
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Informal caregivers are becoming the backbone of healthcare systems as governments increasingly rely on family members, friends, and acquaintances to care for their relatives. Current literature focuses on emotion work in professional settings, whereas emotion work in informal caregiving is unrecognised and understudied. This study aims to address this shortcoming by exploring how emotion work affects informal caregivers’ perceptions of their caregiving abilities. The study utilises a qualitative, abductive research approach to collect and analyse data gathered in fourteen semi-structured interviews conducted amongst Dutch informal caregivers. Data was analysed using abductive thematic analysis, resulting in nine themes that were connected to the existing emotion work framework. Results indicate that emotion work in informal caregiving is complex and multifaceted. Data suggests an extensive role of the carers’ social context, the caregiver-patient relationship, and empathy in affecting caregiving perceptions. Findings add to the limited literature on emotion work in informal caregiving and highlight the need for policymakers to include emotion work in policymaking. Further research on emotion work in informal caregiving should focus on applying the results of this study in different national contexts.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen