Is It Care, Or Is It Work? - Public Thinking about Care Work in the United States

There are also missing links in how we think and talk about care work for different groups and ages, as we often don’t think about care for older people, care for people with disabilities, and child care in a holistic way.4 If we are to continue to challenge the status quo of care work in this country, we need significant shifts in public thinking. [...] For instance, the need to expand paid family leave and public investment in care infrastructure that enables people to choose whether, and how much, they step out of the paid workforce to provide care.10 Is It Care, Or Is It Work? 10 Public Thinking about Care Work in the United States S E CT I O N 2 How Are Members of the American Public Thinking about Care Work? II. [...] People can link the quality of care and care workers’ wellbeing to the context surrounding them— and see the government and unions as part of the solution. [...] When thinking with the Care Work Is Hard Work mindset, the nature of the hard work is assumed to be the same for family care workers and professional care workers. [...] As we’ve reported before, people tend to have a close association between care work and health care.29 Although people are generally unclear on how care work is organized and the policies that would improve care, the association between care work and health care can bring into play the Government Is Responsible mindset and the idea that better pay and better working conditions for care workers is.