A survey by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) has found that 27.9 percent of workers aged 40 or older who had to care for elderly family members said the burden made them think of quitting their job. Only 1.6 percent actually did so.
Rengo officials said the issue poses a significant problem for companies.
The survey focused on workers employed at companies whose labor unions are members of Rengo. It was conducted between February and June last year.
Some 8,200 people, including management and part-time workers who are not labor union members, replied. Of them, some 2,900, or 35.3 percent, many of them women, reported having had to care for family members within the past five years.
When asked why they considered quitting their job, 48.1 percent replied that the task hindered their work; 44.1 percent said their physical strength was at its limit; 43.3 percent said they could not take sufficient care of their family members even if they took nursing care leave; and 17.9 percent replied that they wanted to concentrate on nursing care.
Asked what worries they had regarding nursing care, 60.1 percent of the respondents cited the cost; 59.1 percent mentioned uncertainty about how long it would last; and 40.8 percent answered they had to change the way they work.
In 70.7 percent of cases the workers were taking care of elderly parents; 19.8 percent said they were caring for in-laws. More than half of them lived with the ailing individual, the survey found.