Introduction

This chapter looks at the possibilities of reconciling paid work and the care of young children and elderly parents in situations where employees are subjected to increasing expectations of availability for both work and family life. Our analytical focus is on the impact of ongoing care policy changes and labour market transformations on gender equality in the negotiation of care responsibilities within families. In Sweden, as in many other countries, time pressure or stress among employees has become a heavily debated topic in recent times. In particular, the role of flexible working and non-standard work hours in the generation of differential time pressures has been extensively discussed (Grönlund 2004; Larsson & Sanne 2007). In the next section of this chapter, we examine the interplay of the different aspects of the problem in the context of recent developments in the care of old people and children in Sweden. The third section investigates how care practices are actually negotiated between siblings caring for their elderly parents and between couples arranging childcare. The final section analyses the impact of caring ideals on the amount of pressure experienced in care commitments.

Policy developments in the care of children and old people

In Sweden, care services are provided primarily by the municipalities and the county councils. Since the 1980s, however, notions associated with the ‘new public management’ philosophy have made their way into public policy thinking, with the result that many tax-funded public services – including care provision – have since been outsourced to private providers. The arguments in favour of the new reforms have emphasised not only cost efficiency but also notions such as ‘free choice’ and ‘user democracy’. The expectation has been that the purchase of services from the private sector will have a positive impact on the growth of private services, opening up new markets and creating new jobs (Socialstyrelsen 1994, 2001).

Trends in the care of old people

Despite the growing numbers of old people in Sweden, the number of individuals receiving municipally-provided care services has decreased over the past 20 years (Larsson & Szebehely 2006). Resources are today concentrated on individuals with significant care needs, while those with less severe or acute needs are increasingly expected to arrange for their care through close family members.