A paper examined how entitlements to paid leave after the birth of children affected female labour market outcomes across developed (OECD) countries. Extensions of paid leave lengths were found to have a positive, albeit small, influence on female employment rates and on the gender ratio of employment, as long as the total period of paid leave was no longer than approximately two years. Additional weeks of leave, however, exerted a negative effect on female employment and the gender employment gap. Paid leave positively affected the average number of hours worked by women relative to men, though also on condition that the total duration of leave did not exceed certain limits. By contrast, the provision of paid leave widened the earnings gender gap among full-time employees.
Source: Olivier Thevenon and Anne Solaz, Labour Market Effects of Parental Leave Policies in OECD Countries, Social, Employment and Migration Working Paper 141, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined women's experiences of work and care, and how women achieved a work-life balance. It highlighted the subjective and variable nature of work-life balance, and explored problems of definition. It considered the differential coping strategies that women employed when negotiating the boundaries between work and family.
Source: Louise Wattis, Kay Standing, and Mara Yerkes, 'Mothers and work-life balance: exploring the contradictions and complexities involved in work-family negotiation', Community, Work & Family, Volume 16 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
The coalition government announced (following consultation) plans to allow parents to share up to a year's leave after the birth of a child. Employed mothers would still be entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave, but working parents would have much greater flexibility about how they 'mixed and matched' their leave. They might take it in turns or take it together, providing it was not more than 52 weeks in total. Legislation would be introduced in 2013.
Source: Press release 13 November 2012, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: DBIS press release | Speech | Hansard | Response to consultation | BCC press release | CBI press release | CIPD press release | CMI press release | Family Lives press release | Fatherhood Institute press release | Fawcett Society press release | Gingerbread press release | IES press release | IOD press release | Labour Party press release | NCT press release | REC press release | TUC press release | Working Families press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that over the previous decade flexible working had been increasingly seen as an important tool for individuals to help balance work and family life, with over 95 per cent of workplaces officially offering at least one flexible working practice. But although many businesses claimed to be both family-friendly and pro-flexible working, there was a clear disparity between aims and implementation. Workplace culture and management practice remained fixed on a '9-5' model (or longer hours) and most employers continued to consider flexible working cases on an inconsistent, ad-hoc basis rather than implementing a pro-active, strategic approach to adapt working practices.
Source: Family Friendly or Failing Families?, Family Lives
Links: Report | Nursery World report
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined cross-national differences in the time that parents allocated to their children using aggregate data from 15 European countries. There were large differences between countries. These differences appeared to be associated with four main national characteristics: the countries' level of economic development, the number of hours spent in paid work, values regarding gender roles, and post-materialist values. Some elements of the countries' work-family policies also appeared to matter, but their overall effect was less conclusive.
Source: Anne Gauthier and Berenice DeGusti, 'The time allocation to children by parents in Europe', International Sociology, Volume 27 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined international and domestic legal standards in relation to parental rights for workers. It said that parental leave provisions in the United Kingdom constituted direct discrimination against both men and women, which was incompatible with international, European, and domestic standards. This had contributed to the perpetuation of gender stereotypes in the UK.
Source: Vanessa Long, 'Statutory parental leave and pay in the UK: stereotypes and discrimination', Equal Rights Review, Volume 9
Links: Article
Date: 2012-Sep
An article examined the relationship between employees' access to flexible working arrangements and the amount of informal care they provided to sick or elderly friends and relatives. Flexitime and the ability to reduce working hours were each associated with about 13 per cent more hours of informal care. Workplaces did not respond to the presence of carers by providing flexible work: instead there was some underlying selection of carers into flexible workplaces. The wider workplace environment beyond formal flexible work might also facilitate care.
Source: Mark Bryan, 'Access to flexible working and informal care', Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Volume 59 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined how employed women perceived the reconciliation of work and family life in 7 European countries (including Great Britain). The most important factors influencing employed women's perceptions were workload, the presence of children in the household, and part-time employment. In countries where family policies focused on integrating men and women into the labour market, women rated the reconciliation of work and family life more highly than in countries where family policies were aimed at supporting the family.
Source: Marina Hennig, Stefan Stuth, Mareike Ebach, and Anna Erika Hagglund, 'How do employed women perceive the reconciliation of work and family life? A seven-country comparison of the impact of family policies on women's employment', International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Volume 32 Issue 9/10
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined children's and parents' experiences of working parenthood over time, drawing on data from a qualitative, longitudinal study with 14 working families from Scotland. It considered how these experiences could be understood in relation to the moral narratives of parenting and constructions of childhood.
Source: Jeni Harden, Alice MacLean, Kathryn Backett-Milburn, and Sarah Cunningham-Burley, 'The "family-work project": children's and parents' experiences of working parenthood', Families, Relationships and Societies, Volume 1 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined how women described and justified their decisions to return to paid work, or not to, following the birth of their first child; and compared this with men's experiences of transition to first-time fatherhood. Women articulated work and caring decisions in narratives that conveyed a sense of guilt, whereas men talked more freely about career progression and the importance of work to their identity and their new family. Even though recent research pointed to some changes in men's involvement in caring and women's increased activities in the workplace, particular aspects of these arrangements remained seemingly impervious to change.
Source: Tina Miller, 'Balancing caring and paid work in the UK: narrating "choices" as first-time parents', International Review of Sociology, Volume 22 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined the impact of fathers' weekend work on family life. Weekend work was common among fathers and was associated with less time with children, families, and partners. Fathers did not recover lost time with children on weekdays, largely because weekend work was a symptom of overwork. Even if fathers had compensatory time, they were unlikely to recover lost time spent as a family or couple.
Source: Jennifer Hook, 'Working on the weekend: fathers' time with family in the United Kingdom', Journal of Marriage and Family, Volume 74 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined how employed women perceived the reconciliation of work and family life in seven European countries (including Great Britain), and why women in certain countries were more successful in combining family responsibilities with paid work. The most important factors influencing employed women's perceptions were workload, the presence of children in the household, and part-time employment.
Source: Marina Hennig, Stefan Stuth, Mareike Ebach, and Anna Erika Hagglund, 'How do employed women perceive the reconciliation of work and family life? A seven-country comparison of the impact of family policies on women s employment', International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Volume 32 Issue 9/10
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
A report said that only a tiny minority (4 per cent) of employers had had difficulties complying with the right to request flexible working during the 10 years after its introduction. 7 out of 10 employers reported that flexible working supported employee retention, motivation, and engagement. Almost two-thirds of employers believed that flexible working supported their recruitment activities, and one-half believed that it had a positive impact on reducing absence as well as on boosting productivity.
Source: Flexible Working Provision and Uptake, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Links: Report | CIPD press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2012-May
A new book brought together empirical studies of the work-life nexus in developed countries – with a specific focus on men's working time arrangements, how men navigated and traversed paid work and family commitments, and the impact of public and organizational policies on men's participation in work, leisure, and other life domains.
Source: Paula McDonald and Emma Jeanes (eds.), Men, Wage Work and Family, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A paper examined work/care policies in 15 European countries, focusing on how certain arrangements were supported through the public policies of different welfare states and whether this had changed over time. Although there was a trend towards the support of the dual-earner model, countries still differed in the extent of work/care reconciliation policies, and the pace and timing of political reforms. Moreover, hardly any country had an entirely coherent policy. Different countries prioritized certain instruments over others, irrespective of the notion they had of any specific work/care arrangement.
Source: Agnes Blome, Work/Care Policies in European Welfare States: Continuing variety or change towards a common model?, Discussion Paper 2011-401, Social Science Research Centre (Berlin)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-May
An article examined country variation in the associations between motherhood and earnings, in cultural attitudes surrounding women's employment, and in childcare and parental leave policies. It looked at how cultural attitudes moderated the impact of policies on women's earnings across developed countries. Parental leave and public childcare were associated with higher earnings for mothers when cultural support for maternal employment was high: but they had less positive, or even negative, relationships with earnings where cultural attitudes supported the male breadwinner/female caregiver model.
Source: Michelle Budig, Joya Misra, and Irene Boeckmann, 'The motherhood penalty in cross-national perspective: the importance of work–family policies and cultural attitudes', Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, Volume 19 Number 2
Links: Abstract
See also: Michelle Budig, Joya Misra, and Irene Boeckmann, The Motherhood Penalty in Cross-National Perspective: The importance of work–family policies and cultural attitudes, Working Paper 542, Luxembourg Income Study
Date: 2012-May
An article examined variations in the adoption of workplace work-family arrangements in European countries. Although the welfare state context was a significant explanatory factor, the adoption of workplace arrangements was more strongly related to organizational conditions and characteristics. However, when the development of work-family arrangements was mainly left to the market, employers did not fully make up for the absence of public provision. Public provision helped to create a normative climate that gave rise to new social expectations and 'a sense of entitlement' regarding work-family support.
Source: Laura den Dulk, Pascale Peters, and Erik Poutsma, 'Variations in adoption of workplace work family arrangements in Europe: the influence of welfare-state regime and organizational characteristics', International Journal of Human Resource Management, Volume Issue
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined the role of social policies in mitigating work-family incompatibilities in 27 countries. It considered whether work-family conflict was reduced in countries that provided family-friendly policies and flexible employment arrangements, and whether women and men were similarly affected by such policies. There was considerable variation among countries in perceived work-family conflict. In all but two countries, women reported higher levels of conflict than men. At the individual level, working hours, the presence of children, and work characteristics affected the perception of conflict. At the macro level, childcare availability and to a certain extent maternity leave reduced women's and men's sense of conflict. Additionally, the availability of childcare facilities alleviated the adverse effect of children on work-family balance for mothers, while flexible job arrangements intensified this effect.
Source: Haya Stier, Noah Lewin-Epstein, and Michael Braun, 'Work-family conflict in comparative perspective: the role of social policies', Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Volume 30 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined variations in employed fathers' time with children ages 0-14, using time-use surveys from the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, and the United States. There was some evidence of 'new fathers' on weekends in all countries. Fathers spent more time on interactive care and more time alone with children on weekends than on weekdays. But only Norwegian fathers had increased both their participation in (and time spent on) physical care: British and American fathers' time with children was more responsive to partners' employment.
Source: Jennifer Hook and Christina Wolfe, 'New fathers? Residential fathers time with children in four countries', Journal of Family Issues, Volume 33 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper reviewed the key challenges faced by families in developed (OECD) countries in attempting to manage work and care responsibilities; and critically examined policy solutions and initiatives offered by governments, employers, and civil society actors to ensure work-family balance.
Source: Margaret O Brien, Work-Family Balance Policies, Centre for Research on the Child and Family (University of East Anglia)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
A report examined the use of flexible working practices by men in Wales to meet their caring responsibilities.
Source: Stevie Upton, Work-Life Balance for Men in Wales: Capturing the benefits of flexible working, Institute of Welsh Affairs/Chwarae Teg
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Mar
A report examined survey results on work-life balance. 48.4 per cent of adults aged 16 and over in Great Britain reported a relatively low satisfaction with their work-life balance; 62.6 per cent of those in the United Kingdom reported that they were 'somewhat, mostly or completely' satisfied with the amount of leisure time that they had; and 54.1 per cent of those in England had participated in some type of sport or physical activity in the four weeks before they were interviewed.
Source: Carla Seddon, Measuring National Well-Being: What We Do, 2012, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report | ONS press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Mar
An article highlighted the conditions under which part-time working detracted from, rather than contributed to, successful work-life balance (based on a study of a largely female workforce made redundant by factory relocation). It discussed the need for a more multi-dimensional approach to work-life issues.
Source: Paul Blyton and Jean Jenkins, 'Life after Burberry: shifting experiences of work and non-work life following redundancy', Work, Employment and Society, Volume 26 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A paper examined how national parental leave arrangements related to fathers' participation in and time used for childcare, based on evidence for western European countries (and Canada). Duration of parental leave was found to have a positive impact on fathers' childcare participation.
Source: Nora Reich, Christina Boll, and Julian Sebastian Leppin, Fathers' Childcare and Parental Leave Policies: Evidence from western European countries and Canada, Research Paper 115, Hamburg Institute of International Economics
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Feb