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The Foundation's Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance 2004-2005 set out to map the use of a variety of working time arrangements in companies, to assess the reasons for their introduction and their impact. This report presents an overview of the survey's initial findings. It focuses on aspects such as flexible time arrangements in general, overtime, part-time work, nonstandard working hours, childcare leave and other forms of long-term leave, phased and early retirement and company policies to support work-life balance.
Examining the debate on quality of jobs in Europe, this book focuses on the work-life balance-a central element of the EU agenda. It addresses tensions between work and private life, examining job quality, job security, working conditions and time-use patterns of individuals and households as well as institutional contexts.
The term ‘work-life balance’ refers to the relationship between paid work in all of its various forms and personal life, which includes family but is not limited to it. In addition, gender permeates every aspect of this relationship. This volume brings together a wide range of perspectives from a number of different disciplines, presenting research ndings and their implications for policy at all levels (national, sectoral, enterprise, workplace). Collectively, the contributors seek to close the gap between research and policy with the intent of building a better work-life balance regime for workers across a variety of personal circumstances, needs, and preferences. Among the issues and topics covered are the following: – differences and similarities between men and women and particularly between mothers and fathers in their work choices; – ‘third shift’ work (work at home at night or during weekends); – effect of the extent to which employers perceive management of this process to be a ‘burden’; – employers’ exploitation of the psychological interconnection between masculinity and breadwinning; – organisational culture that is more available for supervisors than for rank and le workers; – weak enforcement mechanisms and token penalties for non-compliance by employers; – trade unions as the best hope for precarious workers to improve work-life balance; – crowd-work (on-demand performance of tasks by persons selected remotely through online platforms from a large pool of potential and generic workers); – an example of how to use work-life balance insights to evaluate the law; – collective self-scheduling; – employers’ duty to accommodate; and – nancial hardship as a serious threat to work-life balance. As it has been shown clearly that work-life con ict is associated with negative health outcomes, exacerbates gender inequalities, and many other concerns, this unusually rich collection of essays will resonate particularly with concerned lawyers and legal academics who ask what work-life balance literature has to offer and how law should respond.
Argues that a revised Working Time Directive will be instrumental for improving working conditions and providing business and employees with the necessary flexibility for implementing innovative and balanced solutions at the workplace. Suggests that further legislative action is necessary in order to shape the EU rules to changing working time patterns while respecting their objective of protecting workers' health and safety.
Including international comparative analysis alongside national case studies, this volume offers a wealth of information on the new trends which have emerged over the past decades - all of which were discussed at the recent 9th International Symposium on Working Time, Paris (2004). It looks at the increasing use of results-based employment relationships for managers and professionals, and the increasing fragmentation of time to more closely tailor staffing needs to customer requirements (e.g., short-hours, part-time work). Moreover, as operating/opening hours rapidly expand toward a 24-hour and 7-day economy, the book considers how this has resulted in a growing diversification, decentralization, and individualization of working hours, as well as an increasing tension between enterprises' business requirements and workers' needs and preferences regarding their hours. This new reality has raised some other challenging issues as well and the volume addresses those such as increasing employment insecurity and instability, time-related social inequalities, particularly in relation to gender, workers' ability to balance their paid work with their personal lives, and even the synchronization of working hours with social times, such as community activities.
In recent years, globalization and the expansion of information technologies have reshaped managerial practices, forcing multinational firms to adjust business practices to different environments and domestic companies to adjust to their foreign competitors. In International Differences in the Business Practices and Productivity of Firms, a distinguished group of contributors examines the phenomenon of widespread differences in managerial practices across firms, establishments within firms, and countries. This volume brings together eight studies that combine qualitative and quantitative insider analysis of business practices such as the use of teams, incentive pay, lean manufacturing, and quality control, revealing the elements that determine which practices are adopted and why. International Differences in the Business Practices and Productivity of Firms offers a much-needed model for measuring the productivity and performance of international firms in a fast-paced global economy.
"Flexibility is a key issue in the European debate on the future of the European economy and labour market. If companies want to maintain and improve their competitiveness, they have to be able to react flexibly to market demands. Workers are interested in company policies that support work-life balance. Working time arrangements can have a significant bearing on the efficiency and productivity of companies as well as the health, wellbeing and motivation of their employees. This report provides unique insight into the various working time flexibility arrangements currently in place in companies across Europe. It is based on analysing the findings of a large-scale, representative survey carried out in establishments with 10 or more employees in 21 European countries in 2004-5. The report looks at whether and how countries differ in their application of flexible working time systems. It analyses the perceived impact of such arrangements on company performance in terms of economic success and employment stability or growth"--Page 4 of cover.
This book reflects the enormous interest in work-life balance and current pressing concerns about the impacts of austerity more broadly. It draws on contemporary research and practitioner experiences to explore how work-life balance and related workplace and social policy fare in turbulent economic times and the implications for employees, employers and wider societies. Authors consider workplace trends, practices and employment relations and the impacts on work, care and well-being of diverse workers. A guiding theme throughout the book is a triple agenda of supporting employee work-life balance, workplace effectiveness and social justice. The final chapters present case studies of innovative processes and organizational practices for addressing the triple agenda, note the important role of social policy context and discuss the challenge of extending debates on work-life balance to include a social justice dimension. This book will be of interest to academics and postgraduate students of organisational psychology, sociology, human resource management, management and business studies, law and social policy, as well as employers, managers, HR managers, trade unions, and policy makers.