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Lessons from the Netherlands on work life balance.

Lessons from the Netherlands on work life balance. Susanna Lloyd & Kay Standing Liverpool John Moores University. Work. Family. Overview. Based on ESF project. Evaluates issues of work, life balance in the UK and Netherlands.

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Lessons from the Netherlands on work life balance.

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  1. Lessons from the Netherlands on work life balance. Susanna Lloyd & Kay Standing Liverpool John Moores University Work Family

  2. Overview • Based on ESF project. • Evaluates issues of work, life balance in the UK and Netherlands. • Is there something we can learn from how WLB is approached in the Netherlands, or does this approach just reinforce gender divisions?

  3. Work Life Balance • Having a family, participating in the labour market (Pillinger, 2001). • Modern life - stress and misbalance between work, care and leisure (Ester et al, 2002). • People should not have to choose between pursuing a career (the way people express themselves, form social interactions, main source of material resources) and their family life (whether, when and how many children they have, and spending time with these children) (OECD, 2002) • Getting the right balance/ Best of both worlds (Plantenga, 2002)

  4. Why is work life balance an issue for women? • Changes in the labour market • Globalised 24/7 society • Atypical working hours • Flexible? Childcare VS Employer led • Institutionalised overtime • Women’s participation in the labour market • Increase entry latter half of the 20th century • The rise in ‘dual earner families’ • Renegotiation of care and domestic responsibilities • Conflicting demands of family and paid work • Succeed, progress VS. family time

  5. Why is work life balance an issue for women? • Caring responsibilities • Gendered towards women • Bulk of childcare and domestic tasks (Gershury, 1997) • Not valued (Land, 1999) • Fragmentation of labour force participation • Child care facilities • Acute shortage, affordable • Set hours • Strong influence – labour market decisions • Effects participation and progression • Key barrier – lone parents, low income.

  6. Project Aims • To assess the impact of UK‘family-friendly’ policy/workplace flexibility. • Awareness; availability; take-up; attitudes. • Potential to alleviate the ‘work-care’ conflict for women; alleviate the ‘childcare barrier’. • To investigate the ‘lived experience’ of work-life balance for women. • Explore the ways in which childcare persists as a barrier to employment progression. • To identify examples of good practice from the Netherlands.

  7. Methods • Mainly qualitative • Face-to-face • Telephone interviews • Focus groups • Women in London, the Southeast and the Northwest of England. • Policy makers, academics, trade unions in the Netherlands. • Life history interviews. • Secondary analysis of large-scale quantitative data: LFS, Time Use Survey; Household Panel Survey etc.

  8. Why the Netherlands? • Netherlands - reduction and reorganisation of working time, to achieve equality and sharing of work and family life (Pillinger, 2001). • World leader in part-time work (Van der Heijden, 1998). • Combination Model

  9. Employer-provided family benefits. • Care and Work law- balance between employment and care responsibilities - flexible working time, able to work part-time, leave. • Child- illness • Emergency. • Relative illness. • Parental Leave. • 16 weeks paid leave - paid by government, toped up by employers • 6 months entitled to work only half hours, 75% of original wage (OCED, 2003). • Adjustment of working hours - request to work more or less hours. • Taken with maternity/paternal leave. • Developing and improving childcare facilities.

  10. Part time jobs in the Netherlands • ¾ of 2 million jobs since 1983 have been part time. • Majority have gone to women. • 42% jobs are part time (highest in Europe) • Sharing work and family life. • Reinforces gender divide? • Job ghetto – part time and low wage • Gendered culture • Breadwinner • Parenting • Social model of the mother being the main carer • Gender wage gap • Trapped in jobs with no career progression.

  11. “Because talking at the school gate one of the mums I know through nursery who is now going to the same school as my son, she said is going to have to give up work because her company aren’t open to her working part time. So she is actually going to give up, resign and find something else. So it is in their interest.” “It gives you a sense of identity. Being at home with small child never appealed. As much as I love, them, but I wanted to be part-time because I wanted to still be working but I wanted to spend time with the children.” (Lilly 34 yrs, North Hampton, 2 children: 3yrs and 4yrs, Computer Programmer & IT support – 21 hours).

  12. “And then you get all the snide comments that make you think you aren’t doing your job properly” “due to Helen’s childcare issues” “I think if you work shifts or you wanted, you were a lower level there is probably more opportunity but I find there is nothing in there is just nothing on my level, everything I do a search for part time B4 there is nothing there.” “….and a friend of mine came back as a B6 but she just realised you can’t do the job part time at that level.” (Wendy 40yrs, North Hampton, 2 children: 3yrs and 7yrs Assistant analyst –21hrs ).

  13. Gender, Work and Care • Contradicts? • Women wanting to care • Problems with labour market • Trapped, progression • Flexibility • Care valued – feminine

  14. Work Life Balance • Having a family, participating in the labour market (Pillinger, 2001). • Modern life - stress and misbalance between work, care and leisure (Ester et al, 2002). • People should not have to choose between pursuing a career (the way people express themselves, form social interactions, main source of material resources) and their family life (whether, when and how many children they have, and spending time with these children) (OECD, 2002) • Getting the right balance/ Best of both worlds (Plantenga, 2002)

  15. Part time jobs in the Netherlands • ¾ of 2 million jobs since 1983 have been part time. • Majority have gone to women. • 42% jobs are part time (highest in Europe) • Sharing work and family life. • Reinenforces gender divide? • Job ghetto – part time and low wage • Gendered culture • Breadwinner • Parenting • Social model of the mother being the main carer • Gender wage gap • Trapped in jobs with no career progression.

  16. “Because talking at the school gate one of the mums I know through nursery who is now going to the same school as my son, she said is going to have to give up work because her company aren’t open to her working part time. So she is actually going to give up, resign and find something else. So it is in their interest.” “It gives you a sense of identity. Being at home with small child never appealed. As much as I love, them, but I wanted to be part-time because I wanted to still be working but I wanted to spend time with the children.” (Lilly 34 yrs, North Hampton, 2 children: 3yrs and 4yrs, Computer Programmer & IT support – 21 hours).

  17. “And then you get all the snide comments that make you think you aren’t doing your job properly” “due to Helen’s childcare issues” “I think if you work shifts or you wanted, you were a lower level there is probably more opportunity but I find there is nothing in there is just nothing on my level, everything I do a search for part time B4 there is nothing there.” “….and a friend of mine came back as a B6 but she just realised you can’t do the job part time at that level.” (Wendy 40yrs, North Hampton, 2 children: 3yrs and 7yrs Assistant analyst –21hrs ).

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