An article examined the literature on the link between flexible working arrangements and performance-related outcomes. Overall findings were mixed, and there was very little support for a link with economic performance.
Source: Clare Kelliher and Lilian de Menezes, 'Flexible working and performance: a systematic review of the evidence for a business case', International Journal of Management Reviews, Volume 13 Issue 4
Links: Abstract | Cass press release
Date: 2011-Dec
A new book presented new research related to childcare policies and children's everyday lives in early education and care institutions in Europe. It highlighted the close connexion between (on the one hand) labour market and work-life balance issues and (on the other) development of particular care arrangements for small children.
Source: Anne-Trine Kjorholt and Jens Qvortrup (eds.), The Modern Child and the Flexible Labour Market: Early childhood education and care, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Nov
A new book examined the different institutional arrangements, workplace conditions, and gendered work and care practices that affected the conditions for achieving quality of work and quality of life in European countries.
Source: Margareta Back-Wiklund, Tanja van der Lippe, Laura den Dulk, and Anneke Doorne-Huiskes (eds.), Quality of Life and Work in Europe: Theory, practice and policy , Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Nov
A new book examined work-life balance issues in European societies.
Source: Sonja Drobnic and Ana Guillen (eds.), Work-Life Balance in Europe: The role of job quality, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Nov
A new book set out a business case for a change in organizational cultures and working practices in the new social and technological environment. Existing flexible work arrangements should be replaced by a wholesale shift to an 'autonomous work culture', and the offices of the future should be meeting places rather than workplaces. Future work strategies required leadership styles that played to 'female strengths'.
Source: Alison Maitland and Peter Thomson, Future Work: How businesses can adapt and thrive in the new world of work, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary | Personnel Today report
Date: 2011-Oct
A report examined the reconciliation of work and family life as a condition of equal participation in the labour market in Europe. A number of European Union member states had made changes to allow for the increased involvement of fathers in childcare. Improvements had also been made in the availability and access of childcare services to parents from across the member states. Nevertheless, women still remained the main carers for children: they were comparatively more involved in part-time work (in order to be able to care for children), and therefore worked longer paid and unpaid hours than men.
Source: Jolanta Reingarde, Ioana Borza, Ilze Burkevica, Merle Paats, and George Kyriacou, Reconciliation of Work and Family Life as a Condition of Equal Participation in the Labour Market, European Institute for Gender Equality
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
The European Union issued a statement calling on member states to address the 'demographic challenge', including: support for families in order to reconcile family and work life for both women and men; promoting active participation by young and older people in society and the labour market; and supporting the equal sharing of care responsibilities between women and men.
Source: Managing Demographic Challenges Through Better Reconciliation of Work and Family Life, European Union
Links: Statement
Date: 2011-Oct
A new book examined the scope for new laws and policies that would encourage and facilitate the reconciliation of paid work, family life, and care-giving.
Source: Nicole Busby and Grace James (eds.), Families, Care-Giving and Paid Work: Challenging labour law in the 21st century, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Oct
A report presented the results of the maternity and paternity rights survey conducted in 2009 and 2010, monitoring take-up of maternity benefits and mothers' post-birth employment decisions. The mean length of maternity leave taken by mothers increased from 32 weeks in 2006 to 39 weeks in 2008. Mothers who increased their leave by the longest period were those with lower salaries and those whose partner had a low salary. The overwhelming majority of mothers who had worked before childbirth had received some type of maternity pay.
Source: Jenny Chanfreau, Sally Gowland, Zoe Lancaster, Eloise Poole, Sarah Tipping, and Mari Toomse, Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey and Women Returners Survey 2009/10, Research Report 777, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2011-Oct
A paper examined the classification of parental leave takers in the European Labour Force Survey, focusing on cross-country discrepancies and their consequences. Classification rules differed between countries: in some countries parental leave takers were considered to be inactive, whereas in others they were shown as employed but temporarily not working.
Source: Malgorzata Mikucka and Marie Valentova, Employed or Inactive? Cross-national differences in coding parental leave beneficiaries in Labour Force Survey data, Working Paper 2011/45, Centre for Population, Poverty and Public Policy Studies (CEPS/INSTEAD)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Aug
An article developed a conceptual framework for analyzing the degree to which public policies supported gender equity in paid work and care in European Union countries.
Source: Chiara Saraceno and Wolfgang Keck, 'Towards an integrated approach for the analysis of gender equity in policies supporting paid work and care responsibilities', Demographic Research, Volume 25
Date: 2011-Aug
A new book examined the impact of online technology on the work and lifestyles of professional employees. New media technologies encouraged and exacerbated a tendency among salaried professionals to put work at the heart of daily concerns, often at the expense of other sources of intimacy and fulfilment.
Source: Melissa Gregg, Work's Intimacy, Polity Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Aug
An article examined what led partnered first-time mothers to participate in full-time employment, and to persist in it, from three theoretical standpoints – profit maximization, polarization, and preference theory. Dual full-time earning was more likely to be a lifestyle adopted by those at the top of the household income distribution.
Source: Shireen Kanji, 'What keeps mothers in full-time employment?', European Sociological Review, Volume 27 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Aug
A think-tank report said that it would be both 'economically short-sighted and socially irresponsible' to roll back the progress made on flexible working over the past decade, due to pressures in a time of economic uncertainty. Employers benefited from it through lower estate costs, better staff retention, increased productivity, and lower absenteeism. Flexible work also had clear, positive social outcomes: more involved parenting improved the life-chances of children, a better work-life balance increased individual happiness, a more flexible workforce was more able to bear the burden of care, and the 'Big Society' required people to have more time to be active citizens.
Source: Dan Leighton and Thomas Gregory, Reinventing the Workplace, Demos
Links: Report | Summary | Guardian report | Human Resources report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Jul
An article examined work-life balance issues in relation to managerial workers. Research findings suggested that in practice work-life balance initiatives might only serve to increase managerial anxieties and pressures – the very opposite outcome to that intended.
Source: Jackie Ford and David Collinson, 'In search of the perfect manager? Work-life balance and managerial work', Work, Employment and Society, Volume 25 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined the routes by which work-home culture might affect employee well-being. Managers should shift the focus away from 'presenteeism' and toward work outputs in order to reduce gender stereotypes and improve attitudes toward those using flexible work practices and family-friendly initiatives.
Source: Alexandra Beauregard, 'Direct and indirect links between organizational work-home culture and employee well-being', British Journal of Management, Volume 22 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
A report examined how fathers integrated work and family life, how they used flexible working, and how being a father affected workplace performance. Fathers who had more flexible working options tended to be less troubled by stress, had an improved sense of purpose and well-being, had a better work-life balance, and were able to deal with work overload more effectively than those with no flexibility.
Source: Caroline Gatrell, Simon Burnett, Cary Cooper, Paul Sparrow, and Jonathan Swan, Working and Fathers: Combining family life and work, Working Families
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined the relevance of different types of support for satisfaction with work-life balance, based on a survey of service sector workers in 8 European countries.
Source: Anja-Kristin Abendroth and Laura den Dulk, 'Support for the work-life balance in Europe: the impact of state, workplace and family support on work-life balance satisfaction', Work, Employment and Society, Volume 25 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
The European Union published a policy statement on work and family life. It called on member states to promote men's role in the family, equality between women and men, and the reconciliation of work and family life; and to take into consideration the different needs and preferences of families – in particular vulnerable families, including large families and lone-parent families – when designing and implementing relevant policies. It asked the European Commission to support the promotion of the well-being of all families and equality between women and men in all aspects and flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy.
Source: Reconciliation of Work and Family Life in the Context of Demographic Change, European Union
Links: Statement
Date: 2011-Jun
An article highlighted a gap in the capabilities of individual parents in Europe to exercise their rights to a better work-life balance, and to utilize the available options.
Source: Barbara Hobson, 'The agency gap in work-life balance: applying Sen's capabilities framework within European contexts', Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, Volume 18 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined how managers in three European countries (including the United Kingdom) talked about the utilization of work-life policies. Managers' discourses stressed disruption and dependency considerations. The lack of resources for replacing staff on leave created disruption and reduced managers' capability to support the use of work-life policies, even if they were statutory or if managers were inclined to be supportive.
Source: Laura Den Dulk, Bram Peper, Nevenka Cernigoj Sadar, Suzan Lewis, Janet Smithson, and Anneke Van Doorne-Huiskes, 'Work, family, and managerial attitudes and practices in the European workplace: comparing Dutch, British, and Slovenian financial sector managers', Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, Volume 18 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined the socio-economic conditions and politics of employment-oriented family policy expansions in the United Kingdom and Germany since the 1990s.
Source: Timo Fleckenstein and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser, 'Business, skills and the welfare state: the political economy of employment-oriented family policy in Britain and Germany', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 21 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
The coalition government began consultation on:
A new system of flexible parental leave that would allow mothers and fathers to share leave, and give parents and employers greater choice about how leave was taken.
How to extend the right to flexible working to all employees.
Changes to the Working Time Regulations as a result of European cases about the interaction of annual leave and sick leave.
Tackling unequal pay by requiring employers who lose an employment tribunal case on equal pay to carry out a pay audit.
Source: Consultation on Modern Workplaces, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Consultation document | Impact assessments | Hansard | DBIS press release | Home Office press release | BCC press release | CIPD press release | Fawcett Society press release | FSB press release | Labour Party press release | PwC press release | Working Families press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-May
An article examined recent fertility trends in European and other developed countries, and the effects of family-friendly policies on fertility. Although these policies did seem to have an impact on fertility, its magnitude was limited.
Source: Olivier Thevenon and Anne Gauthier, 'Family policies in developed countries: a "fertility-booster" with side-effects', Community, Work & Family, Volume 14 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
An article examined the relationship between particular work-life policies and mothers' employment outcomes in European countries. Work-life policies were generally associated with positive employment outcomes for mothers, relative to childless women. Work-facilitating policies such as childcare for young children had decisively positive effects on mothers' employment hours and wages. Work-reducing policies, such as parental leave, could have positive effects if the amount of leave were moderate in length.
Source: Joya Misra, Michelle Budig, and Irene Boeckmann, 'Work-family policies and the effects of children on women's employment hours and wages', Community, Work & Family, Volume 14 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
An article provided an overview of research on the effect of different work-life policies on women's labour market outcomes in European and other developed countries.
Source: Ariane Hegewisch and Janet Gornick, 'The impact of work-family policies on women's employment: a review of research from OECD countries', Community, Work & Family, Volume 14 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
A report examined work-life balance issues in Europe, including: employment rates for men and women; the impact of children on labour market participation; the various forms of flexibility to support the reconciliation of work and family life; and the satisfaction of individuals with their work-life balance.
Source: Andrea Broughton, Reconciliation of Work, Private and Family Life in the European Union, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2011-May
A paper examined the effects of parental leave legislation on various labour market outcomes of women in 16 European countries for the period since 1970. Increases were found in participation rates that diminished with the length and generosity of leave schemes.
Source: Yusuf Emre Akgunduz and Janneke Plantenga, Labour Market Effects of Parental Leave: A European perspective, Discussion Paper 11-09, Tjalling C Koopmans Research Institute (Utrecht University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-May
The coalition government announced (in a speech by a junior minister to a meeting of businesspeople) that it would repeal regulations extending the right to request flexible working to parents of children aged 17, which was due to be introduced on 6 April 2011. It would also not extend the right to request time off to train in respect of firms with fewer than 250 employees.
Source: Speech by Mark Prisk MP (Minister of State for Business and Enterprise), 18 March 2011
Links: Speech | Hansard | DBIS press release | Conservative Party press release | CIPD press release | FSB press release | IOD press release | Labour Party press release | Unite press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined whether associations between well-being and, respectively, paid work and housework differed between European family policy models, and whether any such differences could be attributed to differences in the experience of work-family conflict. Among both mothers and fathers, work-family conflict appeared to be one important reason why paid working hours were not more clearly associated with high levels of well-being.
Source: Katarina Boye, 'Work and well-being in a comparative perspective – the role of family policy', European Sociological Review, Volume 27 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Feb
An article examined the role of organizations in mediating the impact of national work-life balance (WLB) policy on employees, in particular fathers, based on a comparison between the United Kingdom and France. Fathers tended to use WLB measures to spend time with their families where measures (such as state policies on paternity leave) increased their sense of entitlement, or where measures offered non-gendered flexibility (reduced working time/organizational systems of flexi-time). Fathers extensively used informal flexibility where this was available.
Source: Abigail Gregory and Susan Milner, 'Fathers and work-life balance in France and the UK: policy and practice', International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Volume 31 Issue 1/2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Feb
A briefing paper examined the legislative background to flexible working, gave an overview of how the system worked in practice, and set out some of the proposed changes to it.
Source: Vincent Keter, Flexible Working, Standard Note SN/BT/1086, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2011-Jan
A paper examined the relationship between employees' access to flexible working arrangements and the amount of informal care that they provided to sick or elderly friends and relatives. Flexitime and the ability to reduce working hours were each associated with about 10 per cent more hours of informal care, with effects concentrated among full-time workers providing small amounts of care. Workplaces did not respond to the presence of carers by providing flexible work: but there was some underlying selection of carers into flexible workplaces.
Source: Mark Bryan, Access to Flexible Working and Informal Care, Working Paper 2011-01, Institute for Social and Economic Research (University of Essex)
Links: Working paper | Abstract
Date: 2011-Jan
A briefing paper examined the overall policy framework relating to family leave, as well as specific policy proposals for flexible work and shared parental leave. It presented guidelines and ideas for how these policy proposals might contribute to the development of a progressive family policy agenda.
Source: Dalia Ben-Galim, Family Policy: Where Next for Parental Leave and Flexible Working?, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Briefing
Date: 2011-Jan