When Work Becomes Family: The Case of Low-Wage Caregivers

This chapter revisits a debate about the relationship between work and family and the conditions under which workers believe their jobs in the new economy offer an escape from families.

In contrast to prior research, the chapter uses multiple methods, including a random sample survey, intensive interviews with 221 respondents, and 615 hours of observations at eight sites in the health care sector.

The chapter shows that low-wage women nursing assistants – more than those in other health care occupations – develop strong connections to coworkers and patients whom they come to talk about as “family.” It finds that more than doctors, nurses, or EMTs, the CNAs seek an escape from home and a pull to people at work not only because they develop strong relations on the job and have more inclusive notions of family, but also because they face more difficulties at home. These difficulties at home are created in part by the unpredictable schedules and low wages offered by their jobs. These make home life more difficult, which paradoxically leads them to turn to their jobs.

The analysis and findings show the ongoing power of unequal social relations – organized around class and gender and their intersection – in shaping the recursive relationship of jobs and families.