Work-Life Balance in Europe

Work-Life Balance in Europe
Author: S. Drobnic
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2011-06-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0230307582

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.

International Differences in the Business Practices and Productivity of Firms

International Differences in the Business Practices and Productivity of Firms
Author: Richard B. Freeman
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2009-10-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0226261956

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.

Decent Working Time

Decent Working Time
Author: International Labour Office
Publisher: International Labour Organization
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2006
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789221179504

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.

Working Time Around the World

Working Time Around the World
Author: Jon C. Messenger
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2007-05-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 113407039X

First Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Transformation of Employment Relations in Europe

The Transformation of Employment Relations in Europe
Author: Jim Arrowsmith
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2013-09-11
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1135010056

Since the 1980s, the process of European economic integration, within a wider context of globalization, has accelerated employment change and placed a new premium on ‘flexible’ forms of work organization. The institutions of employment relations, specifically those concerning collective bargaining between employers and trade unions, have had to adapt accordingly. The Transformation of Employment Relations focuses not just on recent change, but charts the strategic choices that have influenced employment relations and examines these key developments in a comparative perspective. A historical and cross-national analysis of the most important and controversial ‘issues’ explores the motivation of the actors, the implementation of change, and its evolution in a diverse European context. The book highlights the policies and the role played by different institutional and social actors (employers, management, trade unions, professional associations and governments) and assesses the extent to which these policies and roles have had significant effects on outcomes. This comparative analysis of the transformation of work and employment regulation, within the context of a quarter-century timeframe, has not been undertaken in any other book. But this is no comparative handbook in which changes are largely described on a country-by-country basis, but instead, The Transformation of Employment Relations is rather focused thematically. As Europe copes with a serious economic crisis, understanding of the dynamics of work transformation has never been more important.

Work-Life Balance in Times of Recession, Austerity and Beyond

Work-Life Balance in Times of Recession, Austerity and Beyond
Author: Suzan Lewis
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2016-08-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317405641

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.

Work, Life, and Family Imbalance

Work, Life, and Family Imbalance
Author: Michele A. Paludi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2007-09-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1573567922

Workers everywhere feel the tug-of-war between work and home: Do they go to a child's game or stay late to finish up a spreadsheet? How should they respond when a boss wants to talk about a new project just as they're leaving home to attend a religious service? How do they justify an unexpected, weeklong business trip to a spouse? Managers struggle as well. How much on time should they expect from their employees? How can they allocate work properly when many employees serve as irreplaceable caregivers to children and elderly parents? Should organizational needs prevail over family come crunch time? Welcome to the world of work in the twenty-first century, where 24/7 work obligations and always-on electronic tools ensure that work and family conflict on a daily basis. Michele Paludi and Presha Neidermeyer offer solutions by bringing together leading thinkers on the problem of balancing home and family life. Going far beyond commonplace prescriptions, their new approaches and insights for both individuals and organizations offer hope to those caught in the vise of conflicting expectations. Work, Life, and Family Imbalance showcases the most current and innovative practices in solving the work-life crisis. These practices will shed new light on the issues and help individuals find a sane, yet productive, approach to balancing work and life. And they will help organizations promote family-friendly policies that benefit both individuals and the organization. Applying insights from the fields of management, ethics, sociology, and law, the authors go beyond traditional approaches to offer fresh thinking and methods for individuals and organizations, as well as groups with special needs: nontraditional families, academic families, and those with care-giving responsibilities. Along the way, Paludi and Neidermeyer dispel common myths and misconceptions regarding work/life balance, and they offer practical strategies for achieving balance from both the individual's and organization's point of view. Most important, the book concludes with a series of templates for developing workplace policies and training programs that promote employee well being and corporate profitability. Managers and business leaders of all stripes will find Work, Life, and Family Imbalance an invaluable aid in creating policies that keep employees and their families happy while not just maintaining but boosting the bottom line. What's more, they'll learn a few things about maintaining a productive balance in their own lives.

Innovating European Labour Markets

Innovating European Labour Markets
Author: Joop Schippers, Ton Wilthagen, Ruud Muffels, Peter Ester
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2014-05-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1781007721

This book examines innovative theoretical perspectives and novel labour market policy responses to Europe's changing work demands, employment careers and life courses. It presents creative ideas and recommendations for flexicurity policies at various levels and in different social and economic contexts. The driving factors determining the performance of dissimilar pathways in Europe are identified in regard to their impact on the flexibility/security nexus. Key issues in the current European policy debate are addressed, including how innovative policies are designed in the areas of working time, education, work-life balance, employment relations, retirement and migration, how they are put into practice and what determines their level of success.

Employment Regimes and the Quality of Work

Employment Regimes and the Quality of Work
Author: Duncan Gallie
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2009
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0199566038

The book makes a major new contribution to the sociology of employment by comparing the quality of working life in European societies with very different institutional systems--France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, and Sweden. It focuses in particular on skills and skill development, opportunities for training, the scope for initiative in work, the difficulty of combining work and family life, and the security of employment. Drawing on a range of nationally representative surveys, it reveals striking differences in the quality of work in different European countries. It also provides for the first time rigorous comparative evidence on the experiences of different types of employee and an assessment of whether there has been a trend over time to greater polarization between a core workforce of relatively privileged employees and a peripheral workforce suffering from cumulative disadvantage. It explores the relevance of three influential theoretical perspectives, focussing respectively on the common dynamics of capitalist societies, differences in production regimes between capitalist societies, and differences in the institutional systems of employment regulation. It argues that it is the third of these--an 'employment regime' perspective--that provides the most convincing account of the factors that affect the quality of work in capitalist societies. The findings underline the importance of differences in national policies for people's experiences of work and point to the need for a renewal at European level of initiatives for improving the quality of work.

Balancing Work and Family

Balancing Work and Family
Author: Nuria Chinchilla
Publisher: Human Resource Development
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2010
Genre: Scheduling
ISBN: 1599961687

Parents around the globe are facing the common challenges of balancing family and work. And the need has never been more urgent for organizations to recognize how having a family impacts an employees creativity, productivity and performance. Here is a useful guide to help leaders implement country-sensitive work-family policies and create family-responsible environments in which employees can carry out their work and still be fully engaged with their families. In nine chapters, Balancing Work and Family: Reviews and addresses the unique cultural, social, political and economic climates in the United States, Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia and Africa; Provides practical recommendations based on solid international research; Presents theory as well as vivid accounts of employee experiences from different geographical regions and cultural backgrounds; Shares examples and business cases illustrating best practices from companies in these regions. The books perspective is truly global, with chapters written by international authors. It brings together a diverse team including an academic expert who has conducted rigorous studies on work family conflict, a lawyer who addresses the legal environment in some countries and a practitioner with hands-on experience with real employers and employees. Each chapter presents an overview of the factors in a specific region impacting work-family integration, the main challenges to individuals and organizations, solutions companies have implemented and many examples of the processes companies use to foster family-responsible cultures. The authors make a strong case that it is the job organizational leaders not HR professionals to direct change in this important area.