Work and Life Balance: A Critical Perspective

Sara Moreno Colom

Research Institute of Work (IET)Sociological Research Group of Everyday Life and Work (QUIT)

Department of Sociology Autonomous University of Barcelona

sara.moreno@uab.es

1st To analyse Work and Live Balance (WLB) policies from a critical perspective that takes into account a gender approach

2nd To explain the need to promote change in the social and cultural norms with regard to the sexual division of labour in order to provide an environment that fosters WLB

The goal of this paper is twofold:

This paper is organized in five sections:

1. Introduction

2. Reference point: EU gender policies

3. The Gap between Policy and Everyday Life

4. The Spanish case

5. Some ideas for the future…

1. Introduction

Sociological Research Group of Everyday Life and Work (QUIT-Department of Sociology, Autonomous University of

Barcelona)

QUIT research focus in WLB:

1. Research about WLB and Collective Bargaining (2004)

2. Research about men and women job history (2010)

3. Research about working conditions in new and growing sectors (2011)

Approach: • Academic and political debate about WLB from gender approach

Academic concept: • Balance or reconciliation?• Mediation without imposition between two opposing spheres:

labour market and everyday life

Policies:• European Council on Employment (Equal Opportunities Men and Women, Luxemburg 1998). • Policies not arise in response to a social demand to improve

equality • Policies arise in response to a socio-demographic changes

- Increase female workforce- Decrease birthrate - Increasing ageing population- Migration

2. Reference point: EU gender policies

2. Reference point: EU gender policies

Three major stages in the design and planning of gender policies within the European setting:

Non-discrimination policies

Equal opportunities policies

Gender Mainstreaming strategy

What can be said about the impact of WLB policies 15 years later?

The main policy target is facilitate the employment of women The main subject is the working mother The main sphere is the labour marketThe main measure of balance is working time

But it remains some questions…

Where is the sexual division of work?Where are other workers and, specially, the father worker?Where is the domestic, family and personal life?Where is the time to do domestic and care work?

2. Reference point: EU gender policies

The orientation of WLB policies have focused on making it easier to perform domestic work and care work without taking into account their unequal distribution between men and women. It affects women’s chance to participate in the job market. It has negative repercussions on men’s commitment to domestic work and care for dependent persons.

3. The Gap between Policy and Everyday Life

Legal regulation has less impact than social and cultural constraints

The adult worker model is false because women have not got freedom of choice

Despite the increase of dual earner the male breadwinner model persists as a social model

3. The Gap between Policy and Everyday Life

How can we explain this situation?

Different gender socialisation as a mechanism of the current inequalities between men and women.

The lack of social and economic value given to domestic and care work

The main role of working time in the social organisation

How can we observe these inequalities?

It’s difficult to observe empirical evidence of these explanatory factors however its consequences are easy to measure with time use data.

3. The Gap between Policy and Everyday Life

Gainful work/study

Domestic work

Total work Meals and personal care

Free time

women men wome

n men

women

men women men wome

n men

Belgium 2:07 3:30 4:32 2:38 6:39 6:08 2:43 2:40 4:50 5:22

Germany 2:05 3:35 4:11 2:21 6:16 5:56 2:43 2:33 5:24 5:52

Estonia 2:33 3:40 5:02 2:48 7:35 6:28 2:08 2:15 4:36 5:28

Spain 2:26 4:39 4:55 1:37 7:21 6:16 2:33 2:35 4:29 5:17

France 2:31 4:03 4:30 2:22 7:01 6:25 3:02 3:01 4:08 4:46

Italy 2:06 4:26 5:20 1:35 7:26 6:01 2:53 2:59 4:08 5:08

Latvia 3:41 5:09 3:56 1:50 7:37 6:59 2:10 2:10 4:09 4:48

Lithuania

3:41 4:55 4:29 2:09 8:10 7:04 2:22 2:25 3:49 4:50

Hungary 2:32 3:46 4:58 2:40 7:30 6:26 2:19 2:31 4:38 5:29

Poland 2:29 4:15 4:45 2:22 7:14 6:37 2:29 2:23 4:36 5:25

Slovenia 2:59 4:07 4:58 2:40 7:57 6:47 2:08 2:13 4:29 5:34

Finland 2:49 4:01 3:56 2:16 6:45 6:17 2:06 2:01 5:30 6:08

Sweden 3:12 4:25 3:42 2:29 6:54 6:54 2:28 2:11 5:04 5:24

U K 2:33 4:18 4:15 2:18 6:48 6:36 2:16 2:04 5:04 5:32

Norway 2:53 4:16 3:47 2:22 6:40 6:38 2:08 2:02 5:51 6:03

Use of time by women and men aged 20 to 74 (hours and minutes per day)

Aliaga (2006) Eurostat Statistics in focus 4/2006

Composite working time (hours per week) by gender (average EU27)

Source: EWCS, 2010

Source: Kan et al. 2010

Male employment rate is higher than the female rate

Workplace segregation (both vertical and horizontal) remains

Female part-time employment rate is higher than male rate

Part-time work is more frequent among women with children, while for men the percentage remains steady

Women spend more time in domestic and care work than men

.

Empirical data shows that ...

The massive incorporation of women into the labour market has not been accompanied by a massive incorporation of men into the domestic and family environment

So women find themselves immersed in a double commitment system in which they accumulate work and care responsibilities in an attempt to reconcile work, family and personal lives.

This system serves to highlight the shortcomings in real equality and shows the gap between the socially accepted discourse and people’s everyday reality.

In conclusion…

4. The Spanish case

1. Research about WLB in Collective Bargaining (2004)

Conclusions of stakeholders interviews and collective bargaining analysis:

• The legislation only regulates occasional leave, and does not take into account daily and routine needs of domestic-care work

• More leave, services and cash benefits are offered in caring for children than in caring for dependent adults and the elderly

• This contradicts demographic trends: population is growing older and the birth rate has not increased

• There has been a gradual improvement in the presence of WLB in the collective bargaining

• Negotiations considered WLB an issue of gender equality and not an issue of working conditions.

• The law must finally be interpreted, translated and specified in collective bargaining negotiations.

• WLB vary between sectors and workers

4. The Spanish case 1. Research about WLB in Collective Bargaining (2004)

Conclusions of case study about a pharmaceutic company

• Good practices in WLB as a condition of being recognised as a socially responsible company

• Some measures are business practices that existed years ago, which have been recalled (canteen boucher, parking, sport centre)

• Company proposes good practices as part of their HR departments instead of collective bargaining negotiation. This has got some risks:

– To offer individual solutions to a social problems– To polarise workforce: some workers benefit from WLB and

others do not it (according gender, education level, age…)– To improve company profits above quality of work and life

(flexibility which intensify work, management objectives)

4. The Spanish case

2. Research about men and women job history (2010)

Conclusions of comparative analysis of job histories of men and women

• The sexual division of labour remains• Domestic and care work is present in women’s job history and it

is absent in men’s job history • It appears a continuum between regulated and unregulated

employment according gender and generation:

– Job history of older men: began employment in informal economy and progress to formal economy

– Job history of women: remain in the informal economy more because is the only way to combine work and family responsibilities

– Job history of young people: began and remain in the informal economy because is the only way to be employment

4. The Spanish case

3. Research about working conditions in the new and growing sectors (2011)

Conclusions about stakeholders and workers interviews

• The catering case: the company takes in advantage women WLB needs to intensify work: same tasks, less time to do them

– Time pressure to save staff costs and to flexible control the workforce with a timetable change (From 11am to 16pm/ From 11am to 15pm)

– Women to maintain satisfactory WLB timetable had to accept a more intensive working day

4. The Spanish case

Consequences of the current economic crisis:

• WLB is a privilege of whom are employment• Public cuts in education and health increase domestic and

care work for the families (school canteens, less days in hospital…)

• Increase jobs in informal economy• Reduce and intensify working time as an employer strategy

to save staff cost • Increase in men unemployment because decrease jobs in

male sectors such as construction• Increase in women with the breadwinner role• Do these last two factors have any consequences for the

gender division of labour?

… socialisation and education are keys to bridge the gap between Policy and Everyday life

… WLB has merit as a concept but WLB policy can be problematic

Problematic ways…

the vast majority of WLB policies have been limited to facilitating female employment

they have done this without improving male participation in domestic and care work

female part time working is a false solution for WLB

What happens with elder people? social care for the future…

5. Some ideas for the future…

Successful ways…

to promote campaigns between stakeholders that make the social importance of domestic work and care work for the society

to promote measures to redistribute domestic and care work between women and men

to abandon the idea that women are the only ones who have problems combining their work and personal lives

to promote men as agents of change: compulsory paternity and parental leave?

To promote the idea that all the workers have WLB needs. Introduce flexibility in the job history according life cycle needs of the workers (not only company profit): training leave, time reduction for parental responsibilities, flexibility for social care, part-time retirement…)

5. Some ideas…

Do humans resources specialist prefer a 30 years old man worker to a 30 years old woman worker?

Do line managers prefer a 30 years old man worker to a 30 years old woman worker?

A question…

Work and Life Balance: A Critical Perspective

Sara Moreno Colom

Research Institute of Work (IET)Sociological Research Group of Everyday Life and Work (QUIT)

Department of Sociology Autonomous University of Barcelona

sara.moreno@uab.es