A study examined the relationship between lone parents, work and mental health. The report outlined a reduction in rates of depression among working lone parents. It concluded that being in paid employment was a factor in explaining the fall, but noted the key importance of working in a supportive environment that facilitated the balancing of work and childcare responsibilities.
Source: Susan Harkness and Amy Skipp, Lone Mothers, Work And Depression, Nuffield Foundation
Links: Report | Nuffield Foundation press release
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the relationship between children and women's sickness absence from work in European countries. For married/cohabiting women, there was a quite consistent tendency for dependent children to be associated with lower sickness absence. A single young child was, however, related to higher sickness absence in some analyses, suggesting that the transition to parenthood might be stressful. Single mothers did not in general have higher sickness absence than their married/cohabiting counterparts. The tendency toward lower sickness absence in most groups of married/cohabiting mothers was likely to be due to selection to some extent, but also to favourable 'role accumulation' effects.
Source: Arne Mastekaasa, 'Dependent children and women's sickness absence in the EU countries and Norway', European Societies, Volume 15 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the work-family conflict as perceived by working parents in Spain and Great Britain. Whereas sex, age, and having children at home affected the level of conflict in Spain, education level as a proxy for class was more relevant in Britain. The contrasting perceptions of the work-family conflict in the two countries could be explained by variables that referred to ascribed status in Spain (a pro-traditional model) but to acquired status in Britain (a non-interventionist model).
Source: Marta Ortega Gaspar, 'The modernisation process through the perceptions of work family in Spain and Great Britain', European Societies, Volume 15 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the association between economic uncertainties, work-family reconciliation policies, and women's short-term childbearing intentions in 10 European countries. The association between economic uncertainties and short-term childbearing intentions varied by the number of children already born, education, and institutional contexts. In some countries, having a job had a positive impact on childless women's short-term intentions: in others, low-educated childless women out of the labour market were those most likely to intend to have a child in the near future. Other aspects of economic uncertainties, namely perceived job and income insecurity, had a negative impact on short-term childbearing intentions, regardless of motherhood status. A combination of weaker institutional support for work-family reconciliation, perceived job and income insecurity, and low educational skills were associated with lower childbearing intentions.
Source: Susanne Fahlen, 'Capabilities and childbearing intentions in Europe: the association between work-family reconciliation policies, economic uncertainties and women's fertility plans', European Societies, Volume 15 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
The government published its response to the consultation on shared parental leave. The associated government powers would be included in the Children and Families Bill 2013. The details, including a right for mothers and fathers to be able to share parental leave, would be incorporated into subsequent regulations.
Source: Consultation on the Administration of Shared Parental Leave and Pay: Government response, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Response | DBIS press release | CBI press release | Daycare Trust press release | NCT press release | PACEY press release | TUC press release | Working Families press release | BBC report | Daily Mail report | Guardian report | Telegraph report I | Telegraph report II
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined the experiences of lone parent families as mothers transitioned into outside work, and examined the demands of sustaining employment on a low, but complex, income.
Source: Jane Millar and Tess Ridge, 'Lone mothers and paid work: the family-work project ', International Review of Sociology, Online first
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
A new book examined the tensions between work and welfare in Europe with respect to fertility. It considered the importance of labour force attachment for young women's fertility plans, in the context of increased labour market flexibility and differences in work-life balance policies across Europe.
Source: Livia Olah and Ewa Fratczak (eds), Childbearing, Women's Employment and Work-Life Balance Policies in Contemporary Europe, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined the effect of aspects of the policy, economic, and ideological environment on the gap between mothers' work-family orientations and their actual employment trajectories over the life course in developed (OECD) countries. Significant cross-national variation was found in the gap between mothers' work-family orientations and labour market trajectories. Family policies, opportunities in the labour market, and the ideological context in different countries played an important role in accounting for this variation. Women creatively used generous family leave provisions, took advantage of certain opportunities in the labour market, and adopted distinct compensatory strategies in the face of high childcare costs in order to minimize any discordance between their work-family orientations and actual labour force behaviour.
Source: Alexander Janus, 'The gap between mothers work-family orientations and employment trajectories in 18 OECD countries', European Sociological Review, Volume 29 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined shared parenting in the European Union. Resolving the work-family conflict had hitherto focused on working mothers. But the question of shared parenting, and enabling all working parents to care, underpinned recent proposals to amend the Pregnant Workers Directive, and the revised Parental Leave Directive.
Source: Michelle Weldon-Johns, 'EU work-family policies – challenging parental roles or reinforcing gendered stereotypes?', European Law Journal, Volume 19 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined the way in which employees used information and communication technologies to attend to personal life matters during the working day. It looked at whether employees took advantage of the technical features of devices and applications to erode the spatial and temporal boundary or, alternatively, whether they engaged in practices that otherwise reconfigured the relationship, such as controlling the flow of communication passing between work and personal life. The latter was found to be more common, with employees engaging in multi-faceted strategies to restrict boundary permeability. This resulted in individually nuanced interfaces, whereby people from workers' personal lives had varying levels of access to them.
Source: Emily Rose, 'Access denied: employee control of personal communications at work', Work, Employment and Society, Volume 27 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
A taskgroup report said that more could and should be done to support people who wanted to combine caring for a family member with working. It said that doing so would give businesses and the economy a boost and save taxpayers £1.3 billion each year.
Source: Carers in Employment Task and Finish Group, Supporting Working Carers: The benefits to families, business and the economy, Carers UK
Links: Report | Summary | DH press release | Carers UK press release
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined problems of definition and inequity in the literature on parenthood and work-life balance. It suggested a framework for future research designed to address them, including: a broader definition of work-life balance to include marginalized parents; the defining of parenting and employment as potentially life-enriching; and a trans-disciplinary approach within management studies.
Source: Caroline Gatrell, Simon Burnett, Cary Cooper, and Paul Sparrow, 'Work-life balance and parenthood: a comparative review of definitions, equity and enrichment', International Journal of Management Reviews, Volume 15 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined how working mothers negotiated the often competing spheres of paid work and unpaid domestic and care work. Drawing on qualitative data, it discussed the impact of workplace demands on home life, women's attempts to contain the domestic sphere so as not to disrupt paid work, and the emotional conflicts inherent in combining dual roles.
Source: Louise Wattis and Liz James, 'Exploring order and disorder: women s experiences balancing work and care', European Journal of Women's Studies, Volume 20 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined families' experiences of work-life reconciliation from both children's and parents' perspectives, drawing on a qualitative longitudinal study with 14 families in Scotland.
Source: Jeni Harden, Kathryn Backett-Milburn, Alice MacLean, Sarah Cunningham-Burley, and Lynn Jamieson, 'Home and away: constructing family and childhood in the context of working parenthood', Children's Geographies, Volume 11 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined the aggregate-level effects of parental leave legislation on various labour market outcomes of women in European countries for the period 1970-2010. The results showed increases in participation rates that diminished with length and generosity of leave schemes. There was strong evidence of increases in weekly working hours: but a decrease in wages for high-skilled women, and amplified occupational segregation, were possible results of long parental leave schemes.
Source: Yusuf Emre Akgunduz and Janneke Plantenga, 'Labour market effects of parental leave in Europe', Cambridge Journal of Economics, Volume 37 Number 4
Links: Abstract
See also: 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)
Date: 2013-Jul
A paper examined how the interplay between work-family policies and one-parent households affected poverty risk, using a multi-level analysis across 25 European countries. It concluded that work-family policies were not sufficient to reduce the poverty gap between one-parent and two-parent households, or between lone-mother and lone-father households. Some measures (such as improved access to childcare) did reduce households' poverty risk, but the effect on a reduction of the poverty gap was very limited. Paradoxically, higher female labour force participation appeared to raise the poverty risk, probably by pushing the median income upwards.
Source: Elisabeth Ugreninov, Bjorn Hvinden, and Viggo Nordvik, Can Work-Family Policies Reduce the Poverty Gap between One-Parent and Two-Parent Households? A multi-level analysis of child poverty across 25 European countries, Combating Poverty in Europe project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined the effect of flexible working conditions on work-family conflict in European countries. For both genders, irregularity and unpredictability of working hours had a negative impact on work-life conflict beyond the mere amount of working hours. Yet, higher autonomy in choosing one's work time was used very differently: whereas women tended to use their control over working hours to achieve a better work-life-balance, men tended to use these arrangements to increase their work commitment, thereby enhancing their perceived work-family conflict.
Source: Dirk Hofaecker and Stefanie Koenig, 'Flexibility and work-life conflict in times of crisis: a gender perspective', International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Volume 33 Issue 9/10
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
The Children and Families Bill was given a third reading. The Bill was designed to (among other things): reform the adoption system; introduce greater flexibility in parental leave arrangements; reform the system of special educational needs; strengthen the role of the children's rights watchdog; cut delays in the family justice system; and reduce regulation of the childcare sector. However, plans to allow nurseries and childminders in England to increase the ratio of children to carers were dropped.
Source: Children and Families Bill, Department for Education, TSO | Debate 11 June 2013, columns 175-294, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard
Date: 2013-Jun
A new book examined the reconciliation of work and care including not only childcare but also the support of partners, older relatives, and disabled or seriously ill children. It considered the changing welfare and labour market policies that shaped the lives of working carers in Finland, Sweden, Australia, England, Japan, and Taiwan.
Source: Teppo Kroger and Sue Yeandle (eds), Combining Paid Work and Family Care: Policies and experiences in international perspective, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Apr
The government began consultation on the 'administrative process' for shared parental leave including eligibility criteria, notice periods, and employment protection on return to work.
Source: Shared Parental Leave and Pay Administration Consultation, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Consultation document | Hansard
Date: 2013-Feb
The Children and Families Bill was published, and subsequently given a second reading. The Bill was designed to (among other things): reform the adoption system; introduce greater flexibility in parental leave arrangements; reform the system of special educational needs; strengthen the role of the children's rights watchdog; cut delays in the family justice system; and reduce regulation of the childcare sector.
Source: Children and Families Bill, Department for Education, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard (second reading) | Background document | DE press release | Speech | HOC research brief | Barnardos press release | CBI press release | CSW press release | EDCM press release | Fawcett Society press release | FPI press release | Labour Party press release | Mencap press release | NAHT press release | Nasen press release | NIACE press release | NUT press release | OCC press release | Scope press release | Working Families press release | Community Care report | Nursery World report | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Feb
A study examined European cross-country differences in actual working hours and working time distribution by gender, employment status, household type, and life phase. It considered factors affecting the work-life balance of individuals and households; the gap between actual and preferred working time; and gender disparities across the life course in the time devoted to domestic and care obligations.
Source: Dominique Anxo, Christine Franz, and Angelika Kummerling, Working Time and Work-Life Balance in a Life Course Perspective: A report based on the fifth European Working Conditions Survey, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2013-Feb
An article examined how, why, and with what implications, considerations of children's needs were missing from the European Union's work-family reconciliation framework. The EU had failed to properly identify, let alone acknowledge or promote, children's interests in relation to work-family reconciliation. The author highlighted how children's well-being could be better incorporated into relevant policies and within the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice.
Source: Grace James, 'Forgotten children: work-family reconciliation in the EU', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 34 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jan
A paper examined how leave policies in four countries (Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America) might influence fathers' behaviour when children were young, and whether their involvement translated into positive child cognitive and behavioural outcomes. Fathers who took leave, especially those taking two weeks or more, were found to be more likely to carry out childcare-related activities when children were young. There was some evidence that children with highly involved fathers tended to perform better in terms of cognitive test scores. Evidence on the association between fathers' involvement and behavioural outcomes was, however, weak.
Source: Maria del Carmen Huert, Willem Adem, Jennifer Baxter, Wen-Jui Han, Mette Lausten, RaeHyuck Lee, and Jane Waldfogel, Fathers' Leave, Fathers' Involvement and Child Development: Are They Related? Evidence from four OECD countries, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jan