Assembly-line care: ancillary care work in post-Fordist economies

In the United States, health care aid is one of the fastest growing jobs. This trend is observed in many other Western countries experiencing increased demands for home and facility-based long-term care. However, the recruitment and retention of workers is difficult. The goal of this research is to provide a sound conceptual analysis of paid ancillary care as a better understanding of this type of labour can help improve the delivery and quality of services as well as the retention of workers.

The activities of paid ancillary care are analysed using Marx's analysis of labour and Habermas's distinction of action types. Studies on care workers as well as the manner in which the provision of care is structured by agencies are examined in order to highlight how care work is perceived.

Although care labour is situated in a post-Fordist economy, it is, nonetheless organised as assembly-line work reminiscent of Fordist labour. This is in part a consequence of the reduction of care to a commodity. The commodification of care erases the relational component intrinsic to adequate caring. It is suggested that care labour should be structured to support the complex activities that comprise this type of labour.