Almost ane-in-four Americans (23%) say at that place has been a time when they took exit from piece of work to treat a family member with a serious health condition. An additional one-in-iv say that if this hasn't happened to them already, it's at to the lowest degree somewhat likely that it volition in the hereafter.

The current contend over paid exit oft focuses on maternity and paternity leave. Nonetheless amidst adults who were employed in the past two years, more took time off from piece of work to intendance for a sick family member (11%) than did so post-obit the birth or adoption of a child (7%), according to a new Pew Research Middle study.

Roughly two-thirds of all adults (67%) say workers should receive paid leave when they need to accept time off to intendance for a ill family fellow member, and well-nigh (lx%) of those who took family leave in the by two years say they did receive at to the lowest degree partial pay while they were out of piece of work. But the vast majority of those who received at least partial pay (86%) say some of that pay came from holiday, ill exit or personal time off. Relatively few of these workers (xv%) say they received pay from a family and medical leave do good provided by their employer. Workers who took motherhood or paternity leave with at to the lowest degree some pay in the by two years are significantly more likely to written report that they were paid, at least in part, through an employer-provided family unit or medical get out policy (28%).

Family-leave takers are generally more satisfied with the amount of time they took off from piece of work than parental-leave takers – half of those who took exit from work to care for a sick family unit member say they took about as much time off as they needed or wanted to, compared with 36% of those who took motherhood or paternity get out. Still, four-in-10 family-exit takers say they took less time off than they needed or wanted to. And among those who say they took also petty time off, family unit-exit takers are much more likely than parental-go out takers to say they came back to piece of work sooner than they needed or wanted to because they were worried about task security.

For example, 62% of family-leave takers who came back to work earlier than they would have liked say they idea they might gamble losing their job if they took more time off. Only 37% of maternity- and paternity-go out takers say the same. In addition, among those who returned to piece of work sooner than they wanted to, family-go out takers were more likely than those who took parental leave to say they worried nigh the touch their fourth dimension away was having on their co-workers. About one-half of family-leave takers who took less go out than they would take liked (46%) say they felt desperately about their co-workers taking on additional work in their absence, compared with 31% those returning from motherhood or paternity leave.

There are some intriguing gender dynamics underlying family unit caregiving patterns. A narrow majority of all Americans (54%) say that when a family unit fellow member has a serious health status, caregiving responsibilities fall as on men and women, merely nearly as many (45%) say these responsibilities fall mainly on women. Most women (59%) say that family caregiving responsibilities autumn mainly on women, while only 29% of men concord with this cess. A majority of men (69%) say family unit caregiving responsibilities fall equally on men and women.

However, women and men who were employed in the past two years are equally likely to say that they have taken time off to intendance for a sick family member during that time, but women written report having taken slightly more time off, on average, than men. And women are much more likely than men to say that they were the primary caregiver for their sick family fellow member. Roughly two-thirds (65%) of female person family unit-leave takers say they provided more than intendance for their ill family member than anyone else in the family unit. Only 44% of male family-leave takers say they were the primary caregiver.

For women who have taken family leave in the past two years, a plurality (38%) say they were caring for a sick parent. Fewer say they were caring for a spouse or partner (25%) or caring for a child younger than 18 (20%). Men who took family leave in the by two years are just equally likely to say they were caring for a spouse or partner (33%) as they are to say they were caring for a parent (34%). Some 13% of men say they took time off from work to intendance for a ill child.

Among all workers who have taken time off from work in the past two years to care for a ill family member, about six-in-ten say the experience did non have much of an touch on on their career. For those who practice call up information technology made a difference, men are more than than twice every bit probable as women to say the impact on their career was positive (26% vs. 10%). Men are as well more probable than women to say their family benefitted from their taking fourth dimension off from piece of work: 79% of men, compared with 67% of women, say taking time away from piece of work to treat a sick family member had a positive affect on their family unit.

Kim Parker is managing director of social trends enquiry at Pew Research Center.