The effects of selected high-performance practices and working hours on work-life balance are analysed with data from national surveys of British employees in 1992 and 2000. Alongside long hours, which are a constant source of negative job-to-home spillover, certain 'high-performance' practices have become more strongly related to negative spillover during this period. Surprisingly, dual-earner couples are not especially liable to spillover - if anything, less so than single-earner couples. Additionally, the presence of young children has become less important over time. Overall, the results suggest a conflict between high-performance practices and work-life balance policies. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2003..
During the 1980s a significant growth in the proportion of women returning to work quickly post-childbirth became apparent. It was observed, however, that a polarization of opportunities was emerging, with professional women becoming the main beneficiaries of change -a trend that was predicted to accelerate during the 1990s. Comparing two cohorts of women born in 1958 and 1970, this article indicates that the trend toward faster returns continued but that the experiences of professional and non-professional women converged. The predictors of return rates also changed over this period: while occupational class was an important determinant of return timing in the 1980s, by the mid-1990s this was no longer the case. Instead the financial burden of mortgage debt was pushing women into early work returns. Associated with these changes, a reduction in the incidence of downward occupational mobility, was observed, with the greatest improvements experienced by clerical and secretarial workers.
KEY WORDScare deficit / employment / motherhood / occupational mobility
The rapid growth in nonstandard forms of employment toward the end of the 20th century has fuelled claims about the spread of “bad jobs” within Anglo-American capitalism. Research from the United States indicates that such jobs have more bad characteristics than do permanent jobs after controlling for workers’ personal characteristics, family status, and occupation. We apply a version of the bad characteristics approach to British data and find that despite some institutional differences with the United States, (notably, in employer welfare provision), the British case also supports the hypothesis that nonstandard employment (part-time, temporary, and fixed term) increases workers’ exposure to bad job characteristics.
This study explores whether the plans of older workers on the cusp of retirement are in line with the active ageing (AA) agenda set by policy makers in Europe. The study was carried out in Italy, England, and the United States (US). A total of 133 older workers who planned to retire within the next 10-12 months were interviewed (55 in England, 40 in Italy and 38 in the US) between May 2014 and early 2015 using common semi-structured questions. Active Ageing Index (AAI) dimensions were used to gauge the orientation of older people toward their retirement. The results of the study suggest that, with some differences, retirement plans of interviewees were substantially consistent with the active ageing perspective. However, some challenges were highlighted, including the need for governments to do more to promote genuine freedom of choice in relation to leaving the labour market, and to provide greater support for informal family carers. Findings also pointed to the need to measure AA in connection with individual wellbeing, e.g. by including indicators of leisure activities and by considering the re-weighting of employment and informal care dimensions.Companies could also provide more support during the retirement transition, with opportunities for maintained social connection with former colleagues, and help in making and fulfilling retirement plans.
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