◆Results of Questionnaire on Caregiver Turnover
According to the results of a survey on nursing care turnover conducted by Tokyo Shoko Research, 10.1% of companies experienced nursing caregiver turnover in the year to August 2023. 65.3% of the employees who left their jobs were permanent employees.
In general, the need to take on the responsibility of caring for a parent tends to increase from the age of 50. The likelihood of mid-career and older employees leaving their jobs to care for their parents increases.
◆Status of System Utilization
On the other hand, the survey also shows results on the use of nursing care leave or the short-term family care leave. It found that more than half (54.5%) of the employees who left their jobs to care for family members did not use nursing care leave or the short-term family care leave. Since 50.2% of the companies had clearly stated in their manuals or other documents that they provide support for balancing work and nursing care, this suggests that there is a lack of awareness of the system among employees and encouragement to use the system by the company, and that employees are reluctant to take leave because they are not comfortable with their surroundings.
◆Scheduled amendments to the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law
The Child Care and Family Care Leave Law is scheduled to be revised in the ordinary Diet session of 2024.
In addition to requiring employees to provide information on nursing care and confirming their intention to choose a system is being considered, there may be discussion about requiring training and consultation services to encourage the use of the leave system.
In this day and age, it seems that a company cannot be a good employer if it has the attitude that “nursing care is an employee’s personal problem,” or if it is difficult to take leave in the first place, not only for nursing care but for other reasons as well. We must consider measures to prevent losses caused by caregiver turnover while also monitoring future legal reforms.
