Working time flexibility and work-life balance across Europe and the role of contexts: connecting the individual- , company- and the country-level

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This highly innovative interdisciplinary project using sociological, managerial and psychological theories and state of the art quantitative methods aims to examine the impact of working-time flexibility on work-life balance of individuals, and the importance of contexts in this relationship. It brings together the key research strengths I've built over the years, i.e.; substantive knowledge of working-time practices across countries, theoretical understandings of the impact of job demands and resources on work-family conflict and the impact of contexts, my methodological knowledge using quantitative methods, and lastly my knowledge on some of the key comparative data sources available on these topics. Work-life balance is a crucial aspect of an individual's well-being that also impacts the welfare of families and other societal issues such as fertility rates, and is therefore a major policy goal for most welfare states. For companies, considering that conflict between work and the family life will eventually impact a company's performance outcomes due to sickness, absenteeism, recruiting and retaining workers, providing work-life balance is crucial to retain a productive and effective workforce. One way of simultaneously addressing the work-life balance needs of employees and the productivity needs of employers, while keeping costs down for both governments and companies, is the use of flexible working arrangements. This approach has been supported at the company- national-, and even EU-levels via policies and campaigns, and can provide a good alternative to other more costly work-life balance policies. However, some scholars have pointed to the fact that flexible working can lead to spill-overs from work to home leading to negative results. Despite the mixed results, in-depth evidence based on cross-national data remain lacking and the question of who is really able to benefit from the use of flexibility, in what context, has yet to be answered. To provide this much-needed insight and empirical evidence for future policy developments, this project examines the following questions. What is the impact of working-time flexibility on work-life balance? Does this impact differ across different company and national contexts and individuals in question? If so, why? The study applies a multi-level approach connecting the different levels this dynamic takes place: namely the individual-, company- and country-levels. In addition, two time points are compared to see the extent of diffusion of working-time flexibility in the past years and how this influences its impact on work-family conflict. I will match different secondary data sets across 27 European countries, at the individual-, company- and national-levels for around 2004 and 2010 for the analyses. Different forms of quantitative analysis will be carried out, including multi-level modelling and models to study causal relationships. The results of this research will provide crucial information for groups including trade unions, employers' organisations, organisations supporting working families and women's rights, as well as policy makers at the national and European levels. These beneficiaries will be contacted to take part as an advisory group, to provide valuable input for the project. This study will bring forward a new dimension the study of work-family conflict and the role of working-time flexibility by understanding the dynamics in a wider perspective, which reflects the actual environments individuals and companies are placed in and provide us with new understanding of the role of policies. The results of the project will be disseminated through policy reports and meetings open to all parties interested, as well as through attending international conferences and dissemination through academic publications. In addition, press releases, newsletters and web-site dedicated to the project topic will be used to distribute the outcomes of this project to a wider audience.