The purpose of this paper is to ascertain
the attributes of workers who choose
to take leave when a member of their family is in need of care, and to clarify
the form this leave should take to increa
se the potential for balancing care with
employment. To this end, the author carried out empirical analysis of the fac-
tors behind various choices of leave.
The following facts emerged from the
analysis. Firstly, the likelihood of
taking leave increases when the main care
giver ratio is higher, and this also
tends to encourage absenteeism, in partic
ular. Secondly, leave is more prone to
be taken when the spouse works longer
hours, especially when the spouse?s
employment format makes it impossibl
e to control those working hours. Ab-
senteeism is also more prone to occur if the spouse is a regular employee, and
the likelihood of taking annual leave rise
s more or less significantly when the
spouse is a regular or non-regular empl
oyee, or when there is no spouse.
Thirdly, there is a greater likelihood that leave will be taken when the person
receiving care is admitted to a general hospital or geriatric hospital; caregiver
leave and annual leave are particularly likely to be taken in such cases.
Fourthly, absenteeism is more prone to occur when the caregiver has a lower
annual income. And fifthly, absenteeism
is also more prone to occur if the
caregiver is not a regular employee.
Based on the above results, it became clear that the caregiving environment
of family members is varied, and that there is a need not only for caregiver leave
that can be taken long-term but also for time off work in single-day units.
