On behalf of MACIF, Ifop has carried out a study on caregivers in France, with a particular focus on caregivers in the healthcare sector.
For over twenty years, MACIF has been working to raise public awareness of the cause of caregivers, and to support them in their day-to-day efforts to gain a better understanding of their rights. However, until now, no study in France has dealt with the subject of caregivers who work as professionals in the healthcare sector. How do they manage to reconcile their role as caregiver with their role as carer? What impact does this caregiving role have on their professional lives?
This study, carried out among 1,000 French working people aged 18 and over in all sectors, and 1,000 French working people in the healthcare sector, reveals that almost 1 in 3 working people are caregivers, in that they provide regular and frequent assistance to a dependent relative. In this context, finding a balance between professional and private life can prove complex: two-thirds of caregivers perceive their role as difficult, and more than half (59%) report significant consequences on their professional life.
What about caregivers in the healthcare sector?
Caregivers can draw on their attachment to the profession, their skills and their relationships to help them cope with the difficulties associated with their caring role: 9 out of 10 say they are proud to work in the healthcare sector, and 9 out of 10 say it is a » passion job « . Just as many say that the profession gives them a better understanding of pathologies, and 92% believe that it enables them to communicate better with other healthcare professionals in their caring role.
However, the role of caregiver poses a significant risk to the health and equilibrium of healthcare professionals, by exacerbating the difficulties inherent in their profession: in particular, 72% declare that their profession is arduous, compared to 63% for all working people in the sector. What’s more, over two-thirds have already experienced a state of intense exhaustion linked to their role as caregiver, and over half have already considered a career change outside the healthcare sector.
