Reconciliation of work and family life

1
Reconciliation of work and family life

• Anu Laas
• Unit of Gender Studies, Faculty of Social
  Sciences
• EQUAL Exchange Event Holding a job Having a
  life
• Tallinn, April 3-4, 2006

2
Introduction

• EGGSIE experts and reports
• Four dimensions of reconciliation policy
• Childcare services
• Leave facilities
• Flexible working-time arrangements
• Financial allowances for working parents
• Discussion

3
EGGSIE experts

• 2005-ongoing, Expert Group on Gender, Social
  Inclusion and Employment (EGGSIE)
• In 1998 2004, Expert Group on Gender and
  Employment (EGGE)
• European Work and Employment Research Centre
  (EWERC)
• Manchester Business SchoolThe University of
  Manchester
• director Dr Damian Grimshaw (MBS)
• co-directors Professor Colette Fagan (SoSS) and
  Professor Jill Rubery (MBS)

4
EGGSIE experts as a network

• annual programme of policy-oriented research and
  reports to the unit "Equality between men and
  women"
• national and cross-national comparative
  'synthesis' reports
• DG for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal
  opportunities

5

• Reconciliation of work and private life a
  comparative review of thirty European countries.
  September 2005
• Janneke Plantenga Chantal Remery
• Utrecht School of Economics
• with the assistance of Petra Helming
• EU 25

6
Problem

• Policy approach by countries different
• Flexible working (time) arrangements
• Provision of services by public and private
  sector
• A more equal distribution of paid and unpaid
  work.

• Challenges
• The increasing labour market participation of
  women (Lisbon targets)
• Changing family forms
• Ageing population
• Low birth rates

7
Definition and focus

• Reconciliation policies can be defined as
  policies that directly support the combination of
  professional, family and private life.
• Childcare services, leave facilities, flexible
  working arrangements and other reconciliation
  policies such as financial allowances for working
  parents
• An innovative element of the study - besides the
  focus is on national, public strategies attention
  to the sector or company level

8
Missing

• Beside childcare other services
• Beside parents other family/household members as
  caregivers
• Analysis of services that meet the care needs of
  the elderly and of people with disabilities
• A quality of services. Trust in services
• Reputation of profession (babysitters, social
  workers etc)

9
Four dimensions of reconciliation policy

• Childcare services
• Leave facilities
• Flexible working-time arrangements
• Financial allowances for working parents

10
Childcare services

• Barcelona targets (2002)
• The provision of childcare by 2010 to
• at least 90 of children between 3 years old and
  the mandatory school age and (10)
• at least 33 of children under 3 years of age
  (6)
• Reached in Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, France,
  Sweden, Netherlands

11
Childcare influenced by the

• participation rate of parents (mothers)
• levels of unemployment
• the length of parental leave (work protected)
• the opening hours of school
• the availability of alternatives (grandparents
  and/or other informal arrangements)

12
Childcare as a social right

• In three EU Member States (Finland, Denmark and
  Sweden)
• In Iceland
• In other countries, the supply of (high quality
  and affordable) childcare facilities may be
  insufficient

13
Childcare services

• Full responsibility or combined responsibility
• In Netherlands (only!)
• Financing is on a tripartite basis
• central government
• the employer
• and/or employee

14
Different aspects were studied

• Availability supply and demand/needs, public or
  private enterprise
• Affordability what is a price and who will pay
• Acceptability - cultural norms (a proper mother
  etc)
• Flexibility opening hours etc

15
Expectations to be brave and keep a balance
16
State expects from women and men
children
taxes
employees
politicians and civil servants
employers
economic growth
sustainable development
17
Modern babysitter - no pay, no taxes, but what
will be the cost?
18
Grandparents in wrong age
or missing, or need a care themselves
19
Informal care only trust
20
Involvement of fathers and grandfathers
21
Male take-up leave rates

• Low rates reported in Ireland, Italy and the UK
• Medium levels are reported in Spain, France and
  the Netherlands
• Almost universal take-up in Czech Republic,
  Germany and Estonia.
• Male take-up rates only exceed 10 in Luxembourg,
  the Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland and Norway

22
Firm involvement

• Types of work-family arrangements provided by
  firms
• Flexible working arrangements
• Leaves (incl leave for family reasons (also
  elderly)
• Childcare arrangements (provision of services)
• Supportive arrangements (mostly provision of
  training and information)
• Den Dulk, L. den (2001).Work-family arrangements
  in organisations. A cross-national study in the
  Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and
  Sweden. Rozenberg Publishers.

23
Childcare and employers

• Limited company involvement
• Exceptions large companies, banks and hospitals,
  large industrial undertakings (services in
  Greece, France, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and the UK)
• In Spain, the private and public sector e-s that
  employ at least 300 workers
• Public sector enterprises in Ireland, the UK and
  Liechtenstein

24
Innovative working-time arrangements

• In Belgium a career-break scheme has been
  introduced (the basic principle of the scheme is
  that every employee can stop working or can
  reduce his or her working time for a certain
  period of time)
• In Luxembourg saving hours (allow employees
  more individualised working schemes, for example
  longer leaves.
• In Netherlands a life course scheme a system of
  saving hours designed to help people combine
  various activities (such as work, education or
  care)
• In France, city times policies (to harmonise
  different time schedules within a geographical
  area on the basis of so-called time offices)

25
Conclusion based on report

• Policies differ
• Need for professional services (children under
  2-3, elderly, disabled)
• Parental leave does not always favour gender
  equality
• Need to improve employers involvement
• Arrangements costs should be paid collectively
• Need to raise participation in the labour market
  and to stimulate population growth ? an important
  issue the streamlining of work and family
  policies into one integrated system of care,
  education and leisure services.

26
Discussion
27
Discussion Flexible workingarrangements

• Negative impact
• on (women's) position in the workplace
• on economic independence

• Positive side
• Boosted productivity
• Higher employee satisfaction
• Higher employer's reputation

28
Problems

• Care services not only for children
• Only women are seen as reconcilers
• Tax exemptions or taxation (punishment)
• Fringe benefit (erisoodustus) in Estonia (Income
  Tax Act, Article 48)
• Social construction of poor, needy,
  disadvantaged
• Unequal treatment of different groups

29
Example from Estonian fiscal policy Fringe
benefits

• Fringe benefits are any goods, services, and
  remuneration in kind or monetarily appraisable
  benefits which are given to a person in
  connection with an employment or service
  relationship, membership in the management or
  controlling body of a legal person, or a
  long-term contractual relationship, regardless of
  the time at which the fringe benefit is granted.

30
Professionalisation of services

• Care in home
• Daycares, playrooms, health centres etc
• Training of people in health and social services
• Assistants
• Low skilled
• The quality of these services
• Research on health and social sectors professions
  and work

• Price for professional service
• Affordability
• Responsibility - partnership
• Legal form of service provider (entrepreneur,
  Ltd Co, employee)
• Professional training Business training (as
  Estonian family doctors)
• Recruitment of professional and assisting staff

31
Conclusion

• One integrated system of care, education,
  leisure services
• Assisted living solutions
• Professionalisation and economy
• Who could provide assisted living services in the
  home at a lower cost?
• Cooperation of individual, state, municipality
  and companies
• Decisions by competent people. Research
• Core values in every country contribute to the
  European values and EU has impact to member state

32
Thank you!

• Anu Laas
• www.ut.ee/gender
• laas_at_ut.ee