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Working Time and Work and Family Conflict in the Netherlands, Sweden and the Uk

Author

Listed:
  • Christine R. Cousins

    (University of Hertfordshire, UKc.r.cousins@herts.ac.uk)

  • Ning Tang

    (Sheffield Hallam University, UKn.tang@shu.ac.uk)

Abstract

This article presents evidence on working time flexibility and the experience of work and family conflict in the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK, using data from a comparable questionnaire. We find that the experience of balancing work and family life in the different countries yields some surprising and paradoxical results. This is particularly the case in Sweden where, despite the establishment of gender equality and work–family reconciliation policies, we find that higher proportions of both mothers and fathers than in the other two countries report a conflict between their work and family lives. In the Netherlands and the UK it is fathers rather than mothers who are more likely to report conflicting pressures between work and family life. In each country these experiences are related to the hours of work of women and men, but in the context of different working-time regimes and with different compromises and solutions to the unresolved tensions surrounding the conciliation of work and family life.

Suggested Citation

  • Christine R. Cousins & Ning Tang, 2004. "Working Time and Work and Family Conflict in the Netherlands, Sweden and the Uk," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 18(3), pages 531-549, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:18:y:2004:i:3:p:531-549
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017004045549
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Alois van Bastelaer & Georges Lemaître & Pascal Marianna, 1997. "The Definition of Part-Time Work for the Purpose of International Comparisons," OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers 22, OECD Publishing.
    4. Eileen Appelbaum & Thomas Bailey & Peter Berg, 2002. "Shared work/valued care: new norms for organizing market work and unpaid care work," Chapters, in: Hugh Mosley & Jacqueline O’Reilly (ed.), Labour Markets, Gender and Institutional Change, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniele Vignoli & Letizia Mencarini & Giammarco Alderotti, 2018. "Is the Impact of Employment Uncertainty on Fertility Intentions Channeled by Subjective Well-Being?," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2018_04, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    2. Cathrine Seierstad & Gill Kirton, 2015. "Having It All? Women in High Commitment Careers and Work–Life Balance in Norway," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 390-404, July.
    3. Emma Hagqvist & Susanna Toivanen & Claudia Bernhard-Oettel, 2018. "Balancing Work and Life When Self-Employed: The Role of Business Characteristics, Time Demands, and Gender Contexts," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-20, August.
    4. Bryson, Lois & Warner-Smith, Penny & Brown, Peter & Fray, Leanne, 2007. "Managing the work-life roller-coaster: Private stress or public health issue?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(6), pages 1142-1153, September.
    5. Sergi Vidal & Philipp M. Lersch, 2019. "Changes in gender role attitudes following couples' residential relocations," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(39), pages 1111-1152.

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    Keywords

    Europe; family; flexibility; gender; time; work;
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