Negotiating Care: Power, Boundaries, and Relationships in Paid Home-Based Elderly Care in Turkey

In light of global shifts in caregiving practices, this study explores the increasing reliance on paid home-based elderly care in Turkey, where traditional, family-centric caregiving models are being reshaped by socio-demographic changes. As part of the global trend of employing migrant care workers (MCWs), Turkey offers a critical lens to examine the intersection of care work, gender, class, and cultural boundaries. Through 39 in-depth interviews with family-employers, care receivers, and MCWs, this study reveals how daily practices and personal relationships within care labor are negotiated amidst emerging struggles and incompatibilities. Focusing on gender, social class, and socio-cultural boundaries, I analyse how these dimensions shape the dynamics of paid home-based elderly care in Turkey. Despite its largely unregulated nature, this care arrangement is not chaotic but governed by evolving boundaries—often exploitative yet intricately connected to personal relationships, culture, and class. These dynamics reflect broader power structures within both the local care sector and the global organisation of care work. Turkey's immature welfare regime and fragile economic context exacerbate these tensions, creating significant challenges for both MCWs and employers. Negotiation practices within these care relationships are fluid, with actors continuously adapting strategies based on the specific issues and moments at hand. The boundaries and bargaining power within the relationships are not fixed; hierarchical roles shift over time and between individuals. This dynamic nature resembles a kaleidoscope, reflecting the hybrid and permeable qualities of these care relationships. There is no perfect relationship; actors constantly navigate the unstable and delicate nature of the arrangement. I conclude by linking these diverse negotiation strategies to broader patterns of power, culture, and socio-economic boundaries.