ABSTRACT
Caring time operates within a different framework from that of the paid workforce. Caring time is fractured and fragmented time. Time spent in caring can thus be more stressful and physically and emotionally more draining than much paid work. For carers the pressure to work longer hours and do more in their paid work comes at a time when they find themselves needing more time and energy for that other job - the care of an elderly relative. The issue of recreation time and leisure in the lives of carers must await another book but it should be acknowledged at this point how important, for most workers, is that non-work time. The carers are shouldering a major responsibility of care in an era in which the values are seemingly in the ascendancy in all areas of life. It is a period when paid work and especially secure, long term work, is in short supply.
