14 research outputs found
Flexible working time arrangements and gender equality : a comparative review of 30 European countries
Increasing the flexibility of working time is an important element of the European employment strategy (Employment Guideline 21). Enterprises should
become more flexible in order to respond to sudden
changes in demand, adapt to new technologies and
be in a position to innovate constantly in order to
remain competitive. Flexibility, however, is not only
identified as an important ingredient in the quest for
competitiveness by employers. Also on the supply
side, contemporary employees demand non-full-time
working hours and/or flexible working time schedules
in order to suit their preferred lifestyles and to reconcile work and family life. However, employer-friendly
and employee-friendly flexibility do not necessarily
converge, creating new tensions between employers and employees and between men and women.
This report provides an overview on flexible working
time arrangements and gender equality in the 27 EU
Member States and the three EEA–EFTA countries. The
focus is on internal quantitative flexibility. On the one
hand, this refers to flexibility in the length of working
time, such as part-time work, overtime work and long
hours and, on the other hand, to flexible organisation
of working time, such as flexible working time schedules, homeworking and work at atypical hours. [excerpt]peer-reviewe