Business versus families : whose side is New Labour on?.

In its proposals for achieving a better `work-life balance' for Britain's working families, the New Labour government is also seeking to balance the interests of business against the needs of families. This article argues that the economic policy `trilemma' resulting from economic globalisation is mirrored in a parallel family policy trilemma, with particular consequences for the poorest families. Drawing upon this argument and, partly, upon illustrative evidence from a small-scale qualitative study of low-income working families, it is suggested that promoting family friendly employment alongside a policy of welfare-to-work cannot reasonably be achieved without significant additional regulation of low-paying employers.

Working parenthood and parental obligation.

This article reports upon aspects of a small-scale qualitative study of low-income working families. The study was conducted in the context of recent policy changes in Britain that are intended to promote labour force participation by low-income parents, especially mothers. It is argued that while popular opinion is generally supportive of mothers taking paid employment, some deep-rooted ambivalence remains. Mothers in low-income families can experience the life-course transition involved as difficult in terms of the practical obstacles, the moral dilemmas and the ideological pressures. Without additional measures to support them in relation to their parental obligations low paid women are being pressed, at best, to exchange familial dependency for economic exploitation.

Tipping the balance: the problematic nature of work–life balance in a low-income neighbourhood.

The article attempts to locate the contested notion of work–life balance within the context of global trends and recent policy developments. It describes a small-scale qualitative study of work–life balance as it is experienced within a low-income neighbourhood in the UK. The study findings are used to inform reflections on the powerlessness experienced by many working parents seeking to accommodate family life with paid employment; and on the nature of the calculative responsibilities that are imposed upon working parents by recent shifts in social and labour market policy. It is contended that policy makers should tip the balance of the work–life equation from the current preoccupation with business interests in favour of wider social responsibility concerns.

Re-conceptualising welfare-to-work for people with multiple problems and needs.

One of the acknowledged limitations of British welfare-to-work policies has been that they do not necessarily succeed in assisting people with multiple problems and needs. This article will first examine conflicting aspects of welfare-to-work policies and the conflict between welfare-to-work and the concept of work–life balance, particularly as this may apply to people whose lives are especially difficult. Secondly, the article reports on the general findings of a small scale qualitative study of the labour market experiences of people with multiple problems and needs and, more particularly, an analysis of the discursive strategies used by participants in the study. The article concludes with some observations about how welfare-to-work might be re-conceptualised to accommodate ontological as well as practical life needs.

Work-Life Balance in a Low-Income Neighbourhood

'Work-life balance' generally refers to how people may combine paid employment with family responsibilities. The UK government's attempts to promote work-life balance are connected to wider concerns to maximise labour-force participation and include policies on tax credits, child care and employment rights. Employers favour work-life balance if it promotes the flexibility of labour supply and enables them to retain valued staff. There are concerns about the extent to which work-life balance policies benefit lower-income groups. This paper reports findings from a study, based on in-depth interviews with 42 economically active parents from a low-income neighbourhood. Participants supported the idea of work-life balance, but many found it difficult to achieve. Stress and long hours are unavoidable in some jobs, or else income and prospects must be forgone in order to obtain 'family-friendly' working conditions. Employment rights are poorly understood. Standards of management at work are inconsistent. Pay levels are insufficient and, though benefits/tax credits help, they are complex and badly administered. Childcare provision is available, but quality and access is uneven. Participants had mixed views as to the efficacy of support and services available in the neighbourhood. Participants offered different accounts of their experiences depending upon whether they were having to put their work first or family life first, and whether they felt ambivalent or content about this. The clearest finding was that participants tended to be fundamentally disempowered - by the unpredictability of the labour market, the dominance of a 'business case' rationale, their lack of confidence in childcare provision and a lack of belief in their employment and benefit rights.work-life balance, low-income, employment rights, tax credits, childcare

Poverty and social inclusion: towards a 'life-first’ understanding?

Critically consider the relevance of the concept of social inclusion to the struggle against poverty. Address competing interpretations of social inclusion, while proposing an alternative approach based on a 'life-first' understanding, which prioritises the inclusive realisation of social rights as shared means by which human needs are articulated. Suggest that such an approach might potentially speak to actors in a variety of contexts and from across the ideological spectrum

A post-Marshallian conception of global social citizenship

The object of this chapter is to position social citizenship as a process that is axiomatically global. The chapter proceeds from the premise that rights of citizenship are socially constructed. In that sense, all rights are social. However, the term 'social rights' has conventionally applied to the rights supposedly established by modern welfare states (Marshall, 1950). But the services and protection that are guaranteed by welfare states are complex contemporary manifestations of social processes that have always been central to human existence

(Re)understanding human need: writing the revised edition

Hartley Dean discusses the intellectual journey that influenced the writing of his revised edition of Understanding Human Need. (Re)Understanding Human Need: Writing the Revised Edition

Losing appeal?: the changing face of redress.

This article is, in part, an editorial introduction to the three other articles that will be addressing the commissioned theme of this issue of Benefits, which is concerned with social security appeals and redress. It briefly outlines the context and substance of those articles. In part, however, this article is also an historical and conceptual introduction to the theme as a whole. Although it would seem that impending reforms to the social security appeals system hold out the prospect of a reinvigorated and more independent form of tribunal, this article points to a deeper trend: a trend away from adjudication and appeals and towards forms of redress based on complaints procedures and technical reviews.