A Comparison of the Interplay of Public and Occupational Work‒Family Policies in Austria, Denmark, Italy and the United Kingdom

Wiß, Tobias; Greve, Bent

doi:10.1080/13876988.2019.1582151

Cited by 16 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Among the main causes of work absenteeism are emotional problems (lack of emotional well-being), health problems (lack of physical well-being), or inadequate work-family policies (WFP) [11][12][13][14]. The latter, in turn, can influence the well-being of workers [15][16][17][18], hence, WFP would also indirectly affect absenteeism. Therefore, we must consider that the well-being generated by these WFP has a mediating role in the WFP-absenteeism relationship.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

I Can’t Go to Work Tomorrow! Work-Family Policies, Well-Being and Absenteeism

2020

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Among the main causes of absenteeism are health problems, emotional problems, and inadequate work-family policies (WFP). This paper analyses the impact of the existence and accessibility of WFP on work absenteeism, by considering the mediating role of the well-being, which includes emotional as well as physical or health problems, that is generated by these policies. We differentiate between the existence of the WFP and its accessibility, as the mere existence of the WFP in an organisation is not enough. Additionally, workers must be able to access these policies easily and without retaliation of any kind. The model includes the hierarchy and the gender as moderating variables. To test the proposed hypotheses, a structural equation model based on the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach is applied to a sample of employees in the service sector in Spain. On the one hand, the findings show that the existence of WFP has no direct effect on absenteeism; however, accessibility to these policies does have a direct effect on absenteeism. On the other hand, both the existence and accessibility of WFP have positive direct effects on emotional well-being. In addition, emotional well-being is positively related to physical well-being which, in turn, promotes a reduction in absenteeism. Finally, significant differences in the relationship between the existence of WFP and emotional well-being confirm the special difficulty of female managers in reconciling family life and work life.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

I Can’t Go to Work Tomorrow! Work-Family Policies, Well-Being and Absenteeism

2020

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“…Where the public sector is a major employer and offers flexible working, private-sector companies may compete for the 'best' employees by offering their own family-friendly corporate policies (see e.g. Wiß and Greve, 2020). In addition, by increasing the visibility of women in public life, a large public sector -in which women are better-represented in senior and leadership roles (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing Women on Board? Family Policies, Quotas and Gender Diversity in Top Jobs

Kowalewska

2020

Work, Employment and Society

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An influential body of work has identified a ‘welfare-state paradox’: work–family policies that bring women into the workforce also undermine women’s access to the top jobs. Missing from this literature is a consideration of how welfare-state interventions impact on women’s representation at the board-level specifically, rather than managerial and lucrative positions more generally. This article contributes to addressing this ‘gap’. A fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis of 22 industrialised countries reveals how welfare-state interventions combine with gender boardroom quotas and targets in (not) bringing a ‘critical mass’ of women onto private-sector corporate boards. Overall, the analysis finds limited evidence in support of a welfare-state paradox; in fact, countries are unlikely to achieve a critical mass of women on boards in the absence of adequate childcare services. The results further suggest that ‘hard’, mandatory gender boardroom quotas are not necessary for achieving more women on boards; ‘soft’, voluntary recommendations can also work under certain family policy constellations.

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“…In terms of family policy, there is a broad sense and a narrow sense. From a broad perspective, family policies are instruments that have direct and indirect effects on families and family members [28]. On this basis, Kamerman and Kahn (1978) distinguished two types of family policies: explicit and implicit [29].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Family policies focus on meeting the needs of all families by supporting both poor families and ordinary families [85]. More importantly, due to the reality of a high female labor participation rate [28], especially in China, a combination of policy instruments should be used that can provide cash and services and can address issues such as paid leave, such as allowing for leave to care for children and providing childcare services, subsidies and benefits to support family caregivers. This will help fill the gaps in relevant national policies and improve women's work-life balance.…”

Section: Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Content Analysis of Family Policy Instruments to Promote the Sustainable Development of Families in China from 1989–2019

Huang

2020

Sustainability

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Family policy involves a combination of policies enacted to address various family problems and improve the sustainable development of families. Evaluating family policy by considering policy instruments is conducive to optimizing policy allocation and promoting this sustainable development. This study constructs a two-dimensional analysis framework of policy instruments and policy themes and employs content analysis to conduct a quantitative analysis of 112 family policy texts issued by the Chinese government. The results show that the policy instruments used in China are not effective. The study also shows that environmental policy instruments are most frequently used, but the internal structure is unbalanced; supply-side policy instruments are moderately used; and the use of demand-side policy instruments is obviously limited. Policy themes focus excessively on “safeguard measures” and pay less attention to “parental welfare and protection”. Overall, China’s family policy is still in its infancy, as it focuses mainly on assistance and remains incomplete. Therefore, the parties responsible for the formulation of family policy should adjust and optimize the combinations of policy instruments that are employed are required to consider “general welfare”, and promote the two-dimensional integration of policy instruments and policy themes.

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A Comparison of the Interplay of Public and Occupational Work‒Family Policies in Austria, Denmark, Italy and the United Kingdom

Cited by 16 publications

References 54 publications

I Can’t Go to Work Tomorrow! Work-Family Policies, Well-Being and Absenteeism

I Can’t Go to Work Tomorrow! Work-Family Policies, Well-Being and Absenteeism

Bringing Women on Board? Family Policies, Quotas and Gender Diversity in Top Jobs

Content Analysis of Family Policy Instruments to Promote the Sustainable Development of Families in China from 1989–2019

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