Social Policies Related to Parenthood and Capabilities of Slovenian Parents

Abstract

We apply Sen's capability approach to evaluate the capabilities of Slovenian parents to reconcile paid work and family in the context of the transition to a market economy. We examine how different levels of capabilities together affect the work–life balance (WLB) of employed parents. We combine both quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches. The results of our quantitative and qualitative research show that increased precariousness of employment and intensification of work create gaps between the legal and normative possibilities for successful reconciliation strategies and actual use of such arrangements in Slovenia. The existing social policies and the acceptance of gender equality in the sphere of paid work enhance capabilities for reconciliation of paid work and parenthood, whereas the intensification of working lives, the dominance of paid work over other parts of life, and the acceptance of gender inequalities in parental and household responsibilities limit parents’ capabilities to achieve WLB.

The Causal Effects of the Number of Children on Female Employment - Do European Institutional and Gender Conditions Matter?

“…On the other hand, however, women are supposed to accept a double burden once their children are older, and to work for pay just as their mothers did under socialism in order to contribute to the tight household budget (Lück and Hofäcker 2003;Philipov 2008). A desire to contribute to their family's finances and to improve their family's living standards are often mentioned in empirical studies for the region when young parents are asked why they are willing to accept long working hours and strong work pressures, and why they reject the idea of advocating for shorter or more flexible working hours to achieve greater work-family balance (Hobson et al 2011;Mrcela and Sadar 2011). Thus, the common pattern found in the data is that women in the CEE countries tend to take long career breaks after the birth of a child (even up to three years), thereby taking advantage of the relatively generous parental leave schemes; and then return to employment, often full-time (Matysiak 2011b).…”

Supervisory support in Slovenian and Dutch organizations: a contextualizing approach

“…Organizational cultures both reflect and shape managerial attitudes and practices (den Dulk & Peper, 2007;den Dulk & de Ruijter, 2005, 2008. Supervisors can enhance or inhibit individuals' ability to exercise rights and utilize options for a better balance between paid work and private life (Kanjuo Mrcěla & Sadar Černigoj, 2011). The crucial role of supervisory support has inspired scholars to study its effects on employees' work-life experiences and to develop measurements for it (Hammer, Kossek, Zimmerman, & Daniels, 2007, 2009).…”

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“…It was rare for participants to explicitly mention the importance of public childcare for parents being able to work, although one quote below illustrates this clearly. This line of reasoning is linked to the long tradition of public childcare provision and near full employment of women (Kanjuo Mrčela & Černigoj Sadar, 2011). Because more people are working, contributing to the state, we can actually do more as a state.…”