Introduction

In Finland, among caregiving paid workers aged 44 to 63, 3% of women and 4% of men reported having care responsibility for their partner in 2009 (Kauppinen and Jolanki, 2012). In Sweden, no exact figures on the numbers of working partner-carers are collected. Numbers of carers and informal helpers are largest among middle-aged women and adult daughters in both countries (see Chapter One), although among retired couples, both women and men often care for their partners (Szebehely, 2005a, 2005b; Voutilainen et al, 2007; Kattainen et al, 2008).

In research and policy debate in Finland and Sweden, the circumstances of working partner-carers have received little attention: instead, care between partners has been studied almost exclusively among older retired people (Mossberg Sand, 2000; Mikkola, 2009). Finland's (1929) and Sweden's (1987) Marriage Acts impose no statutory obligation to provide personal care for one's spouse, although spouses are expected to help and support each other financially. However, the disability of one partner raises particular issues in how work and care play out in the family lives of middle-aged, usually co-resident, couples and this chapter explores these issues in the Nordic context. What type of problems and challenges do Finnish and Swedish working partner-carers have in their everyday lives? What are the means – the practical arrangements and policy support – by which they manage these challenges? How well are they supported by recent welfare state developments? And do those who need workplace flexibility to manage work and care receive any assistance from their employers? The chapter addresses these questions by exploring case material from two recent empirical studies.

The chapter is organised in three main parts. First, it provides a short overview of the services and support available to working partner-carers in the two countries. Second, it draws on two new qualitative studies of working carers in Finland and Sweden – alongside other existing research on work–care reconciliation – to highlight some of the challenges partner-carers face in relation to work, care and their personal lives. Two case studies – one from each country – are presented to illustrate the different coping strategies partner-carers adopt to help them better manage the situations in which they find themselves. Third, the chapter considers the policy implications of this research.