Literature review - Work package 4 - completed December 2003

The objective of this work package was to produce a state-of-the-art literature review covering each of the 8 partipating countries. This resulted in 8 national reports, which were combined into a Consolidated Literature Review.

Download the Executive Summary in English or contact c.purcell@mmu.ac.uk for the full report.

Summaries of the national reports can be read below:

United Kingdom
The Netherlands (in Dutch or in English)
Sweden (in Swedish or in English)
Bulgaria (in Bulgarian or English)
Portugal (in Portuguese or English)
Norway (in Norwegian or English)
Slovenia (in Slovenian or English)
France (in English)

Summary of the UK literature review

The many labour marked and policy changes are reflected in the major research topics relating to the project interests in the UK in the last few years. A major research theme relates the changing nature of work and workplaces, including trends such as job insecurity, work intensification and long working hours (Brannen and Moss 1998; Burchell, Ladipo et al. 2002; La Valle, Arthur et al. 2002) and the long hours culture in many occupations (Bond, Hyman et al. 2002; Crompton, Dennett et al. 2003). Although occupational and work-family stress has been addressed since the 1980s, there has been a recent resurgence of interest in stress, relating to these changes in the nature of work (Brannen and Moss 1998; Burchell, Ladipo et al. 2002; La Valle, Arthur et al. 2002; Yeandle, Wigfield et al. 2002)

Flexible working arrangements including part-time working and other patterns have also attracted research interest. Given the voluntary nature of most provisions and the resistance of many employers, the focus has been on the impact of employer policies and their consequences for employer productivity (the business case) in particular (Purcell, Hogarth et al. 1999; Dex and Scheibl 2002; Dex and Smith 2002). There is also a growing recognition of the limitations of employer policies without culture change in the workplace, a concern reflected in some work-family research (Lewis 2001; Bond, Hyman et al. 2002; Yeandle, Wigfield et al. 2002).

Parenthood continues to be a major research topic. Employed mothers have long been a focus of research. Recent research includes studies of single mothers (Duncan and Edwards 1999) and childcare issues (costs, effects on children in their early years, the benefits for children from least well off homes and media and policy discourse) (Crompton 1999; Walby 1999). There is also a resurgence of interest in fatherhood including the roles of fathers, and fathers’ working hours (Hatter, Vintner et al. 2002; O'Brien and Shemilt 2003).

Some research focuses on the diversity of families and in the workplace. Gender and especially the gender pay gap is a major focus, including its prevalence, size, causes and solutions, especially in relation to flexible working and childcare patterns (Walby and Olsen 2002). Other forms of diversity are slowly beginning to enter onto the research agenda including ethnic minority families (Rana, Kagan et al. 1998); parents with disabled children (Rana, Kagan et al. 1998; Lewis, Kagan et al. 1999) and rural families (Mauthner, McKee et al. 2001). Household diversity is addressed though studies of social exclusion, child poverty, unemployment and changing skills needed, especially among work poor households (Quinton, Pollock et al. 2003).

Well-being, happiness and satisfaction have received relatively little attention in the 1980s and 1990s, when stress took centre stage. However these issues are becoming increasingly considered in recent UK literature and research (Warr 1999; Donovan and Halpern 2002; Layard 2003).

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Samenvatting Literatuur Overzicht Nederland

Huishoudens in Nederland kunnen als onderhandelingshuishoudens worden getypeerd. De toegenomen scholing van vrouwen en hun deelname aan het beroepsleven, hebben hun sociaal-economische positie versterkt. Door deze ontwikkelingen hebben vrouwen een betere onderhandelingspositie verworven op het vlak van de taakverdeling thuis en de combinatie van arbeid en zorg. Andere ontwikkelingen zijn daarmee gepaard gegaan, zoals een moderner oriëntatie op waarden betreffende familie en gezin en het veel frequenter dan vroeger samen wonen voordat men getrouwd is. Deze ontwikkelingen hebben echter ook een keerzijde, namelijk een toenemend uitstel van het moment waarop het eerste kind wordt geboren. De gemiddelde leeftijd in Nederland van vrouwen bij de geboorte van hun eerste kind is ruim 29 jaar. Dit uitstel van de geboorte van het eerste kind kan leiden tot onvrijwillige kinderloosheid. De medische risico’s nemen toe, zowel voor moeder als voor kind. Wanneer Nederland betere voorzieningen zou hebben voor een evenwichtiger combinatie van arbeid en zorg, zouden ouders gemakkelijker dan nu tot een eerdere geboorte van kinderen kunnen besluiten.

In Nederland verdelen veel huishoudens de betaalde en de onbetaalde arbeid via het zogenaamde anderhalfverdieners model. Dit betekent dat de man een volledige baan heeft en de vrouw in deeltijd werkt. Anderhalfverdieners huishoudens kunnen worden verdeeld in grote anderhalfverdieners en kleine anderhalfverdieners huishoudens. Het zijn vooral hoger opgeleide vrouwen die het grote anderhalfverdieners model representeren. Lager opgeleide vrouwen werken vaker in kleine deeltijdbanen. Lager opgeleide vrouwen zijn in de regel meer dan hoger opgeleide vrouwen op zorg en gezin georiënteerd. In het algemeen kan worden gezegd dat paren in Nederland een meer gelijke verdeling tussen betaalde en onbetaalde arbeid prefereren, dan ze feitelijk weten te realiseren. Er zijn maar weinig huishoudens, waar de verdeling van betaalde arbeid en zorg tussen man en vrouw gelijk is.

De wens van ouders in Nederland om zowel een betaalde baan te hebben als thuis te zorgen, neemt toe. Om dit te kunnen realiseren, is de beschikbaarheid van deeltijdbanen, van flexibele werktijden en van andere arbeid/zorg voorzieningen belangrijk. Veel Nederlandse arbeidsorganisaties komen tegemoet aan de wens van hun medewerkers om arbeid en zorg te kunnen combineren. Veel bedrijven bieden ten minste één soort voorziening aan op het vlak van flexibele werktijden, verlofmogelijkheden of kinderopvang. Arbeid/zorg voorzieningen worden het vaakst aangeboden in grote, publieke organisaties. Hoewel werkgevers erkennen dat arbeid/zorg voorzieningen bijdragen aan de tevredenheid van hun werknemers, zien zij dit type voorzieningen toch vooral als een kostenpost, zij het als kosten die moeilijk zijn te vermijden. In het algemeen kan de houding van Nederlandse werkgevers ten opzichte van arbeid/zorg voorzieningen vooral als pragmatisch worden getypeerd. Dit type voorzieningen hoort er nu eenmaal bij, wil je een aantrekkelijk werkgever blijven. Het zou echter goed zijn als het bieden van voorwaarden aan medewerkers om arbeid en zorg beter te kunnen combineren, niet in de betrekkelijke marge van arbeidsvoorwaarden blijft steken. Dit is nog vaak het geval in Nederland. De integratie van werk en privé-leven zou een vanzelfsprekend onderdeel moeten vormen van een rationele en efficiënte manier om het werk te organiseren en daarmee van het domein van strategische keuzen en beslissingen van organisaties.

De mate van evenwicht tussen werk en privé-leven is van invloed op het welbevinden van mensen thuis en op het werk. Een zware werkbelasting heeft een negatief effect op welbevinden. Andere zaken die het welbevinden negatief beïnvloeden zijn regelmatig overwerk, ongunstige werktijden en een problematische relatie met de leidinggevende. Vrouwelijke werknemers melden vaker dan mannelijke werknemers dat werk en thuis op een negatieve manier interfereren. Het welbevinden van medewerkers wordt positief beïnvloed door de uitgesproken waardering van de kant van de werkgever, door autonomie en zelfbeschikkingsmogelijkheden. Het onderzoek naar welbevinden en organisaties in Nederland, vertoont nogal wat leemten. Onderzoek naar wat een organisatie “gezond” maakt is schaars.

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Summary of the Dutch Literature Review

Nowadays, households in the Netherlands can be characterized as negotiation households. Women’s increased level of education and participation on the labour market, have improved their socio-economic position. With these developments, women’s negotiating position regarding task division at home and the combination of work and care has improved. Together with this, a number of other developments occurred, such as a changing orientation towards more modern family values and the increased cohabiting before getting married. These developments however, imply that the timing of having children is being delayed to an average women’s age of 29,1 years old. This delay increases involuntary childlessness and has medical consequences for women and children. By creating institutions that allow a well balanced combination of work and care, the trade-off between working and having children could be lessened.

In the Netherlands, the average family divides working hours between couples along the lines of the one-and-a-half earner model. This means that men work full-time and women work part-time. One-and-a-half earner households can be divided into large- and small one-and-a-half earner types, according to the size of women’s part-time job. In general, higher educated mothers participate more on the labour market that lower educated mothers, which means that primarily higher educated mothers are represented in the large one-and-a-half earner model. Compared to higher educated mothers, lower educated mothers are more care oriented than work oriented. These mothers have adapted their working hours to their caring needs in the small-one-and-a-have earner model. Most men and women would actually prefer a more equal division, where both partners have a large part-time job, but only very few couples have realized this arrangement in the Netherlands so far.

Women and men in the Netherlands increasingly wish to combine paid work with care. In order to realize these wishes the availability of part-time work, flexible working hours and other work-family arrangements are necessary. Most Dutch organizations are aware of workers wishes to combine work and care and offer at least one arrangement in the field of flexible working hours, childcare or leave. Work-family arrangements are most common in large organizations and non-profit organizations. Although employers acknowledge the positive effect of increased worker satisfaction, work-family arrangements are still mainly seen as costs, be it costs that are difficult to avoid. Generally speaking, Dutch employers’ attitudes towards work-family arrangements can be characterized as pragmatic. The search for a better work-life integration however, must not get stuck in the relative margin of labour conditions, which is often still the case in the Netherlands. Work-life integration has to become part of the rationality and efficiency of the working process itself. By going this way, work-life integration will belong to the domain of strategic organizational choices and decisions.

A balanced work-life situation influences people’s well-being at work and at home. Studying work home interference, a heavy workload turns out to effect feelings of well-being negatively. Other relevant predictors of negative well-being are working overtime at a regular base, unfavourable work schedules and a problematic dependency on the supervisor. Female employees often report more negative work home interferences than male employees. Positive rewards employees get from their supervisors enlarge their well-being, as well as autonomy and job control do. Empirical findings on well-being and organizations are still rather patchy, however. Research on what makes an organization “healthy” is scarce in the Netherlands.

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Sammanfattning av den svenska litteraturgenomgången kring relationen arbetsliv och familjeliv

Litteraturgenomgången visar att trots att den svenska välfärdsstaten, sedan lång tid tillbaka, drivit en mycket progressiv jämställdhets och familjepolitik genomsyras såväl arbetsliv som familjeliv i hög grad av partriarkala maktstrukturer och traditionella könsmönster. Kvinnor har fortfarande huvudansvaret för barn och hushållsarbete i familjelivet och anpassar i större utsträckning sitt arbetsliv efter familjelivet. Männen å sin sida arbetar oftare heltid, tar ett mindre ansvar för det inre familjearbetet och har mer kortsiktiga anpassningsstrategier för att hantera konfliktsituationer mellan arbetsliv och familjeliv.
På flera sätt visar således det svenska exemplet att endast ett starkt välfärdsstatligt stöd inte är tillräckligt för att skapa genomgripande förändringar i konstruktionen av kön och föräldraskap. Situationen är mer komplex än så och beroende av en mängd andra faktorer i relationen mellan stat, marknad och familj. I genomgången har det exempelvis framkommit att 1, barnafödandet starkt påverkas av ekonomiska konjunkturer och situationen på arbetsmarkanden. Barnafödandet viker när arbetsmarkanden och ekonomin sviktar. 2, Att möjligheten att balansera arbetsliv och familjeliv påverkas av arbetslivets organisationsstruktur. Arbetslivet struktureras ofta utifrån traditionella könsnormer där kvinnor förväntas vara lojala mot familjelivet och männen lojala mot arbetslivet. Detta får framför allt negativa konsekvenser för kvinnors situation i arbetslivet, men också mäns då fäder såväl som mödrar betraktar sig som både förälder och anställd. 3, Att välfärdsystemens tydliga koppling till lönearbetet kringskär stora gruppers möjligheter att till fullo utnyttja stödsystemen. De som står utanför, är på väg in eller har en svagare förankring på arbetsmarkanden ges allstå sämre förutsättningar än andra.

Samtidigt framkommer det också många tecken på en långsam uppluckring av de traditionella könsmönstren inom såväl arbetsliv som familjeliv. I ett historiskt perspektiv har moderskapet och faderskapet kommit att närma sig varandra i en större överlappning av familjeansvaret, även om könsskillnaderna kvarstår. Inom arbetslivet har småbarnsmammorna ökat och fäderna minskat sin tid i lönearbetet samtidigt som fäderna tydligare börjat markera föräldraskapets närvaro i arbetet. Som en konsekvens av detta har också allt fler arbetsgivare initierat olika former av stödåtgärder för att underlätta de anställdas möjligheter att kombinera arbetsliv och familjeliv. Trots det tycks utvecklingen mot en förändring vara långsam och framstegen relativt små. Inom den svenska forskningen på området framstår emellertid kunskapen om den generella bilden som större än kunskapen om förändringarna och variationerna. Det innebär att vi ofta känner till de breda mönstren inom både arbetsliv och familjeliv men saknar djupare analyser av relationerna häremellan. Fortfarande vet vi exempelvis väldigt lite om hur olika arbetskulturer inverkar på olika föräldrar eller familjetyper och hur kvinnor och män på ett djupare plan skapar mening i synen på sig själv som både förälder och anställd. Vi vet också förhållande lite om hur olika arbetsorganisationer, i realiteten, hanterar föräldraskapets ökade synlighet inom arbetslivet eller hur man kan utveckla strategier som både tillvaratar företagens och de anställdas behov och intressen. I detta sammanhang kan vi också konstatera att det i stor utsträckning saknas kunskaper om sambandet mellan föräldraskap, arbetsliv och hälsa. Forskningen visar att ”överspillningen” mellan de olika sfärerna kan ge både goda och negativa effekter på föräldrars välmående men vilka bakomliggande mekanismer som styr denna balans är förhållandevis okända. På samma sätt förhåller det sig med relationen mellan stat och familj. Fortfarande behövs det mer kunskap om hur de socialpolitiska förutsättningarna och stödsystemen uppfattas och hanteras inom olika familjer. Vilka strategier utvecklas i familjelivets vardag, bakom den officiella fördelningsstatistiken, när olika familjer/föräldrar skall balansera arbetsliv och familjeliv? Hur förändras detta över tid och i relation till mer individuellt specifika livsomständigheter eller hur påverkas exempelvis kön, föräldraskap och uttaget av föräldraledighet av andra sociala kategorier som klass eller etnicitet?
För forskningen är det alltså en angelägen uppgift att närmare undersöka detta område. Men i ljuset av den låga nativiteten, det ökande antalet sjukskrivningar, den bristande jämlikheten och den ökade rörligheten på arbetsmarkanden ligger det även i statens, familjens och marknadens intresse att dessa frågor lyfts fram för en djupare analys.

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Summary of the Swedish literature review

The litterature review show that even if the Swedish welfare state, for a long time, has pursued very progressive equality and family policies, both work life and family life are to a high degree permeated by patriarchal power structures and traditional gender patterns. Women still take the main responsibility for children and domestic work in family life and adapt to a greater extent their work life to family life. As for the men, they work more often full-time, take less responsibility for the internal family work and have more short-term adaptation strategies to deal with conflict situations between work and family life. The Swedish example shows in many ways, that a strong welfare state support alone is not sufficient to create thorough transformations in the construction of gender and parenthood. However, the situation is more complex than that and depends on a number of other factors in the relation between state, market and family. In the review we have among other things discovered:

1. That childbirth is heavily influenced by the economic situation and the state of the labour market. Birth-rates recede when labour market and economy waver.

2. That the possibility to balance work and family life is influenced by the organisation structure in work life. Work life is often structured on the basis of traditional gender norms, where women are expected to be loyal to family life and men loyal to work life. This has, above all, negative consequences to women’s situation in work life, but also to men’s situation, since fathers as well as mothers consider themselves as both parents and employees.

3. That the welfare system’s clear connection to gainful employment circumscribes the possibility of larger groups to fully use the support system. Those who find themselves outside, on their way in or who are not fully established on the labour market have worse opportunities than others do.

At the same time, we have also observed many indications of a slow breaking-up of the traditional gender patterns within both work and family life. In a historical perspective, motherhood and fatherhood have approached each other in a larger overlapping of family responsibility, even if gender differences remain. The number of mothers with small children in work life has increased and fathers have reduced the time spent at work and at the same time they have started to clearly manifest their parenthood at work. As a result of this, more employers have also initiated different forms of supportive measures to facilitate their employees’ possibilities to combine work and family life.

Despite this, the evolution towards change seems to be slow and progress relatively limited. In Swedish research in this field, knowledge about the general picture seems, however, greater than the knowledge about changes and variations. This means that we more often know about the broad patterns in both work and family life, but lack in-depth analyses of the relations between the two. We know, for instance, still extremely little about how different work cultures influence different parents or types of families and how women and men on a deeper level create meaning through the view on themselves as both parents and employees. We also know relatively little about how different work organisations in reality handle the increased visibility of parenthood in work life or how you may develop strategies, which protect both company and employee needs and interests. In this matter, we may also note that we are in an extreme lack of knowledge about the connection between parenthood, work life and health. Research shows that the “spill over” between the different spheres may have both positive and negative impacts on the parents’ well-being, but which the mechanisms behind are that control the balance of this process is relatively unknown.

In the same way, we have limited data on the relation between state and family. We still need more knowledge about how the socio-political conditions and support systems are perceived and handled within different families. Which are the strategies parents develop in their everyday life, behind the official distribution figures, when they have to balance work and family life? How does this process evolve over time and in relation to more individually specific life circumstances or how is gender, parenthood and parental leave influenced by other social categories such as class or ethnicity? To research, it is thus an important task to examine this area closely. However, considering the low birth-rate, the increasing number of sick-leaves, the lacking equality and the increased industrial mobility, it is a matter of interest also to the state, families and the market that these issues be brought out for an in-depth analysis.

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Преглед на литературата
Национален доклад за България

В условията на радикална социална трансформация в България през 90те г. на 20 в. и началото на 21 в. доминиращият дебат в сациалните науки е относно характера на прехода и неговите времеви граници. Макропроцеси като икономическото преструктуриране, приватизацията, либерализацията на трудовия пазар и европейската интеграция са предпочитани изследователски проблеми. Професионалните и семейни стратегии на младите възрастни рядко присъстват в дискурса на прехода, тъй като съчетаването на работата и родителството не се дефинира като социален проблем.

Изследванията на младежта бяха проспериращо интердисциплинарно поле през 80те г., което обаче се сблъска със сериозни политически и финансови бариери. Те бяха преодолени към края на века с развитието на тематичен, методологически и институционален плурализъм. Проучванията на отношението на младите хора към семейството и родителството акцентират върху възгледите им за секса преди брака, съжителството без брак и желания (“идеален” и “реалистичен”) брой деца. Основната методика – анкетно допитване – предоставят повече информация за готовността на младите (или по-скоро нейната липса) да станат родители, но много по-малко за действителния опит на родителите. Недостатъчно проучени са практиките на отглеждане на деца, особено на ролята на бащите и разширеното семейство.

Изследванията на семейството са слабо развити в пост-комунистическа България, като повечето публикации са теоретични, от гледна точка на социалната политика.  Доминират количествените допитвания и статистическите анализи, а тематичният им обхват е доста тесен, като фокусът е върху раждаемостта, забавянето на сключването на брак и увеличаване дела на живеещите сами. Множество статистическа информация е набрана за ролята на домашното производство и разпределението на домакинските задължения между членовете на семейството. Новаторски изследвания от социологическа перспектива и с качествени методики изучават проблемите на много младите майки, самотните майки, жените-предприемачки и наетите в частния бизнес, но се пренебрегва търсенето на оптимална граница между работата и семейството.

Проучванията на трудовата и организационната промяна проблематизират поведението и ценностите на предприемачите в новите икономически условия, формите и резултатите на процеса на приватизация на държавните компании и тенденцията към гъвкавост на труда. Тези изследвания прилагат широк набор от методи, включително фокус групи и биографични интервюта. Публикациите по мениджмънт на човешките ресурси са предимно теоретични и описателни и липсва информация за организационната промяна в българските компании и как се отнася тя към нагласите на управлението и персонала за постигане на баланс между работата и семейството.

Благополучието като концепция не се дискутира в България. Качеството на живота, семейното щастие и добрия психологически климат на работното място бяха теми по-често обсъждани по времето на комунистическия режим, докато при посткомунизма водещ термин от социологическа перспектива е оцеляването, обикновено като стратегия на домакинствата. Психологическите проучвания акцентират върху стреса на работното място, увеличаването на “саморазрушителното” поведение и отрицателните последици от безработицата, несигурноътта на работата и бедността. Икономистите измерват жизненото равнище и удовлетвореността от материалната ситуация на семейството.

В научната литература в България остават съществени празноти по отношение на родителството, баланса работа/семейство и организационнато промяна. По-качествени методи, поставящи под въпрос съществуващите мнения, могат да станат ефективен начин за предоставяне на необходимото познание за вземане на информирани политически и индивидуални решения.

Summary of the Bulgarian literature review

Under the conditions of a radical social transformation in Bulgaria in the 1990s and early 21st century, the overarching debate in social sciences is the character of the transition and its time limits. Macro processes such as economic restructuring, privatisation, labour market liberalisation and European integration are preferred research targets. The career and family strategies of young adults are rarely present in the transition discourse, since combining employment and parenthood is not perceived as a social problem. Other issues are seen as more ‘significant’ public concerns: mass unemployment, poverty, emigration and negative population growth.

Youth studies have been a burgeoning interdisciplinary field in the 1980s, which experienced serious political and funding obstacles in the 1990s. It has recovered by the end of the decade developing thematic, methodological and institutional pluralism. Research of young people’s attitudes to family and parenthood focus on their views toward premarital sex, cohabitation and desired (‘ideal’ and ‘realistic’) number of children. The main methodology used – attitudinal surveys – provide more information about young people’s readiness (or rather the lack of it) to become parents but much less about their actual experiences of being parents. Child rearing practices are insufficiently highlighted, in particular the role of fathers and the extended family.

Family research is rather underdeveloped in post-communist Bulgaria with most publications remaining theoretical, from a social policy perspective. It is quantitative surveys and statistical analyses that dominate this field and their thematic scope is rather narrow, stressing fertility, delay of marriage, and rise of living single. Much quantitative information is gathered on the role of home production and the division of unpaid work among family members. Innovative studies from a sociological perspective and qualitative methodologies explore the problems of very young mothers, single mothers, women entrepreneurs and those employed in private companies, yet neglecting the processes of negotiation of work-family boundaries.

Inquiries into workplace and organisational change have problematised the behaviour and values of the entrepreneurs in the new economic circumstances, the forms and effects of large-scale privatisation of state companies and the trend toward flexibilisation of work. These studies have employed a wide array of methods including focus groups and biographical interviews. Publications in human resource management are theoretical and descriptive and there is a lack of information about the organisational change in Bulgarian companies and how this relates to management and personnel considerations of a work-life balance.

Wellbeing as a concept is not discussed in Bulgaria. Quality of life, family happiness and good psychological climate at the work place were topics more often debated during the communist regime while under post-communism survival has become the dominant term, used in relation to household strategies from a sociological perspective. Studies from a psychological perspective focus on the stress in the workplace, the rise in ‘self-destructing behaviour’, and the negative consequences of unemployment, job insecurity and poverty. Economists measure the living standards and satisfaction with the material situation of the household.

There remain grave gaps in Bulgarian literature on parenthood, work/family balance and organisational change. More qualitative methods challenging existing assumptions may be an effective way forward into providing the necessary knowledge for informed policy and individual decisions.

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Considerando o objecto da presente pesquisa, identificámos sete linhas principais de investigação em Portugal.

A juventude não é um tema muito desenvolvido nas ciências sociais portuguesas, mas existem algumas pesquisas interessantes, sobretudo produzidas ou orientadas por José Machado Pais. De inicio, as culturas, os valores e os estilos de vida juvenis surgiram como principais tópicos de pesquisa, mas esta tem abrangido novas temáticas como a transição para a vida adulta e os projectos de vida.

A sociologia da famíliaé umas das principais linhas de investigação em Portugal, possuindo uma forte tradição estabelecida por investigadores como Ana Nunes de Almeida, Maria das Dores Guerreiro, Karin Wall e Anália Torres, entre outros. A maioria dos estudos procura explorar as mudanças nos padrões familiares, nomeadamente o decréscimo das taxas de fertilidade, o aumento das taxas de divórcio, as novas formas de conjugalidade e as diferentes noções de parentalidade e infância. Estes estudos salientam que as novas dinâmicas familiares fazem parte de um processo de mudança social mais vasto, que implica alterações nas práticas e nos valores que concernem a família. A reprodução e a mudança dos papéis de género têm também sido objecto de análise, quer pela sociologia quer pela psicologia social.

A conciliação entre trabalho e vida familiar surgiu mais recentemente como uma área de investigação. A maior parte da bibliografia sobre este tema centra-se nas estratégias dos agentes – por exemplo, as estratégias dos pais relativamente à divisão do trabalho doméstico e às soluções de guarda das crianças. A divisão do trabalho entre homens e mulheres, os usos do tempo, os equipamentos de guarda como creches, os serviços domésticos profissionalizados, as redes de apoio familiar e as políticas sociais constituem os principais tópicos de pesquisa nesta área. Existem também algumas pesquisas em organizações que discutem as políticas de conciliação entre trabalho e família, desenvolvidas nomeadamente pelos investigadores acima mencionados.

Existe uma vasta bibliografia acerca da mudança organizacional salientando mudanças fundamentais como a implementação de novas tecnologias, e a emergência de novas formas de trabalho e emprego, como o tele-trabalho, os contratos temporários ou o part-time. As pesquisas nesta área incluem as contribuições da psicologia social das organizações e da gestão de recursos humanos, desenvolvidas por autores como Jorge Vala, António Caetano e Brandão Moniz. Estas pesquisas, entre outras, enfatizam a importância de estudar as atitudes acerca da mudança, e também a importância da formação profissional. A presença das mulheres nas organizações e a manutenção de processos de segregação vertical e horizontal são outros temas de investigação, colocando-se em discussão os valores e medidas para a igualdade de oportunidades entre homens e mulheres.

Recentemente, surgiu um interesse na questão da cultura organizacional, dando origem a algumas pesquisas importantes. Este campo não tem uma longa tradição em Portugal mas está a ser muito desenvolvido por diferentes departamentos de pesquisa tais como a sociologia do trabalho, a psicologia social das organizações ou a área dos recursos humanos. A satisfação no trabalho, as relações de trabalho e a resistência/promoção da inovação organizacional podem ser considerados os principais tópicos de pesquisa neste campo.

Os valores constituem um tema central das ciências sociais em Portugal desde que estas  surgiram, dando origem quer a ensaios teóricos, quer a estudos empíricos. A partir destes estudos podem-se apreender algumas importantes transformações nos valores e orientações, numa sociedade em mutação como a portuguesa, sendo possível identificar hiatos significativos entre gerações e classes sociais. Inquéritos extensivos aos valores têm sido desenvolvidos periodicamente, sobretudo pelo Instituto de Ciências Sociais (ICS) fornecendo um panorama geral da sociedade portuguesa. Estudos acerca de grupos específicos da população, produzidos em centros de investigação como o CIES permitem uma caracterização mais detalhada de certas áreas específicas.

A exclusão socialconstitui uma linha de investigação importante em Portugal, sendo objecto de alguns dos trabalhos mais interessantes e influentes desenvolvidos na última década, por investigadores como João Ferreira de Almeida, Luís Capucha, entre outros. Ainda que a exclusão social não constitua um tópico central desta pesquisa, estes estudos podem ser um contributo valioso para equacionar o facto de alguns grupos se encontrarem estruturalmente excluídos do bem-estar e se caracterizarem por padrões familiares, profissionais e de vida distintos. 

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Summary of the Portuguese Literature review

We considered seven major lines of research in Portugal.

Youth is not a well-developed area of Portuguese social sciences, but there are some interesting researches produced or promoted by José Machado Pais. At first, youth cultures, values and lifestyles emerged as the exclusive focus of research, but the scope is widening to new topics, as transitions to adulthood and life projects.

Sociology of family is one of the main research lines in Portugal, having already a strong tradition, raised by researchers Ana N. Almeida, Maria D. Guerreiro, Karin Wall and Anália Torres among others. Most studies seek to explore changes on family patterns, namely decrease of fertility rate, increase of divorce rate, new forms of conjugality and different notions of parenthood and childhood. These studies underline that new family dynamics are a part of a wider social change process, that comprise alterations on practices as well as on values towards family. The reproduction and changes of gender roles is also a subject of research, both by sociology and social psychology.

Work–family reconciliation has more recently emerged as a research area. A major part of the literature on this subject focuses on actors’ agency – for instance parents’ strategies for division of housework, and childcare solutions. Main topics of research are the division of work between men and women, uses of time, care services such as kindergartens, professional domestic services, family support networks and social policies. There is also some research conducted on organizations, which discuss politics and measures on work-family reconciliation, mostly by the family researchers above mentioned.

There is a broad scope of literature on organizational change, highlighting major changes such as the implementation of new technologies and the emergence of new forms of labour and employment (e.g. telework, part-time, temporary contracts). Research on this subject includes contributions from social psychology of organizations and human resources management, by authors including Jorge Vala, António Caetano and Brandão Moniz. These researchers, among others, emphasize the importance of studying attitudes towards change, and also the importance of professional training. The presence of women in organizations, and the subsistence of vertical and horizontal segregation is another subject of research, discussing values and measures on equity of opportunities between men and women.

Recently, an interest on organizational culture has emerged, this field has not had a long tradition in Portugal, but it is now being strongly promoted by different research departments including sociology of work, social psychology of organizations and human resources. Work satisfaction, labour relations and resistance/promotion of organizational innovation may be considered as the main topics in this field.

Since it’s beginning, Portuguese social sciences has focused on values, both through theoretical essays and empirical studies. We may realise through these studies some important changes on values and orientations in Portugal’s changing society, including significant gaps between generations and social classes. Extensive surveys on values have been developed periodically, specially by the Social Sciences Institute (ICS), enabling a broad picture of Portuguese society. Studies on specific groups, produced by research centres as CIES, give a more detailed characterization of some specific subjects.

Social exclusion is an important and strong line of research in Portugal, subject of some of the most influent and interesting works developed during the last decade, by researchers such as João Ferreira de Almeida, Luís Capucha, among others. Although social exclusion is not a topic of our present research, some of these studies are relevant as they highlight the fact that some groups are structurally excluded from well-being and are characterized by differential family, work and life patterns.

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Litteraturoversikt for Norge: Oppsummering av forskningstema

I Norge er sammenhengen mellom endrede kjønnsrelasjoner, velferdsstatens utvikling og forskjellige familieformer et viktig forskningsfelt. Sosiologisk forskning har fokusert på endrede familieformer gjennom kvantitative så vel som kvalitative studier. Eksempelvis har man ved hjelp av survey data dokumentert store endringer over tid i kvinners og menns forventninger til kjønnsrelasjoner i parforhold og i forhold til å kombinere lønnsarbeid og foreldreskap.

Småbarnsforeldres fordeling av omsorg og lønnssarbeid og tidsbruk har vært sentrale forskningstema. Flere studier har vært foretatt for å evaluere de store og viktige reformene som har vært gjennomført i familie og likestillingspolitikken. Kontantstøttereformen har vært gjenstand for mye debatt, og en rekke evalueringer er foretatt fra ulike perspektiver. Fokus på fedre har også blitt mer framtredende den siste tiårsperioden. Fedres tidsbruk i familien og arbeidsmarkedstilpasninger, bruk av farskvoten i foreldrepermisjonen har blitt undersøkt. Konklusjoner fra slike studier viser at omtrent 85 % av fedre tar ut den månedlange fedrekvoten i barselperioden. Imidlertid bruker kvinner mer tid enn menn på ulønnet arbeid i hjemmet, likestilling er ikke et faktum i to-inntektsfamilien.

Studier av kjønnssegregeringen på arbeidsmarkedet viser at kvinner og menn fordeler seg ulikt i forskjellige yrker, og at kvinneyrker gjennomgående er lavere lønnet enn mannsdominerte yrker. Endringer på arbeidsmarkedet og nye tilpasninger i det ’post-industrielle’ samfunnet er tema som preger mye samfunnsfaglig forskning. Kjønn og makt er et viktig emne for samfunnsvitenskapelige studeir. Av andre tema kan nevnes kjønnsbestemt arbeidsdeling og kjønnssegregering, samt likelønn. Fleksibilitet, arbeidstidsmønstre og spesielt deltidsarbeid, har vært undersøkt i flere samfunnsvitenskapelige studier. Kjønn og ledelse, spesielt fraværet av kvinner i de høyeste lederstillingene i næringslivet, er nok et tema som har vært, og er, viktig i den norske forskningen.

Forskning på holdninger, verdier og ’det gode liv’ er et stort felt. Levekårsstudier, herunder også tema som sorterer under ’wellbeing’, har en sterk tradisjon i Norge. Studier som sammenligner levekår for forskjellige grupper i befolkningen viser for eksempel at småbarnsforeldre er presset på tid, og at eneforsørgere har trangere økonomiske rammer enn andre familier.

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Summary of the Norwegian Literature Review

The relationships between changing family patterns, gender relations and the welfare state policies are the major research fields in Norway. Changes in family patterns have been analyzed thoroughly by both qualitative and quantitative research projects. Studies have documented dramatic changes in attitudes and expectations related to gender roles and relations, as well as remaining ambiguities concerning support for mother’s employment.

The ways parents of small children organize childcare and paid work, as well as their time-use patterns have been central themes for research. There have been important policy changes in these fields and many surveys have been carried out to evaluate these changes. In particular the effects of the recent cash-for-care reform have been analyzed from different perspectives. Fatherhood has received greater attention in the last decade. Fathers’ time-use, employment patterns and use of the father’s quota have been analyzed. Fathers’ participation in childcare is increasing and around 85 per cent of fathers use their one month “quota” of parental leave. Time-use studies show that mothers use more time on unpaid domestic work: the dual-earner family is still not a dual-carer family.

Changes in the labour market and the emerging characteristics of the “new” post-industrial work life have attracted research interest in various academic disciplines. Issues of gender and power have been analyzed. Different studies focus on the gendered division of labor (both vertical and horizontal segregation) and problems of equal pay. Flexibility, new time-norms, working time patterns and especially part-time work have also been major research topics. Gender composition of the top-management and the scarcity of women at the higher levels of the hierarchy has been a major research focus. Numerous studies of gender segregation in the labour market show that women and men do different types of work, in different types of jobs, which are related to different wage structures.

Research on well-being has mainly been related to the general surveys on living conditions and the quality of life. Analyses of dominant values held by Norwegians, changes in values and the definition of “the good life” are the major research fields. Living conditions studies show that the wishes and problems of the Norwegian population vary for different groups. For example, parents with small children wish for more leisure time while single parents wish for better economic conditions in order to improve their quality of life.

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Pregled literature - Slovenija: Povzetek

Raziskave usmerjene predvsem na prehod v starševstvo in mlade družine so v Sloveniji redke. V zadnjih letih so to problematiko obravnavale raziskovalne skupine na Centru za socialno psihologijo in Centru za proucevanje organizacij in cloveških virov na Fakulteti za družbene vede v Ljubljani, na Inštitutu za ekonomske raziskave v Ljubljani in na Znanstvenoraziskovalnem centru SAZU. Najvec informacij o motivacijah za odlocitev za otroke, vrednostnih orientacijah mladih, mladih staršev in drugih socialnih skupin je v nacionalnih raziskavah o rodnostnem vedenju. Raziskave o mladih družinah obravnavajo predvsem njihovo kakovost življenja, razloge za odloženo starševstvo, motivacijske mehanizme za odlocitev za prvega otroka in za naslednje otroke. Bolj pogoste so raziskave na reprezentativnih vzorcih za Slovenijo o posameznih strukturnih in dinamicnih vidikih družine, spolni delitvi dela, kakovosti posameznih podrocij življenja in povezanosti med njimi. Longitudinalne in sistematicne raziskave so redke, poleg že omenjenih raziskav o rodnostnem vedenju, obstaja še raziskovanje Slovenskega javnega mnenja in raziskovanje Kakovosti življenja. Med raziskavami, pomembnimi za razumevanje prehoda v starševstvo in problematike mladih družin, je najvec studij o spolni delitvi dela na zasebnem in javnem podrocju življenja in študij o vrednotah. Vse druge študije, ki so sicer zanimive za cilje slovenskega dela mednarodnega projekta, obravnavajo zgolj posamezne med seboj nepovezane vidike ali pa predstavljajo predvsem razlicne teoretske pristope z nekaterimi statisticnimi ilustracijami iz Slovenije in drugih držav. Izpostavljena je predvsem naslednja problematika: individualizacija, pluralizacija družinskih oblik, spreminjanje spolnih vlog, novo ocetovstvo, mit o materinstvu, marginalizacija nekaterih družinskih oblik in socialnih skupin.

Raziskovanje o starševskih strategijah in mejah med družino in delom so se zacele že v prvi polovici 8otih let z dvema obsežnima projektoma, ki sta: 'Testiranje novih metod za razširitev možnosti uporabe socialnih in drugih služb za pomoc družinam' (Testing of new methods for extending family use of social and rehabilitation services) in mednarodna primerjalna študija ' Spreminjanje vzorcev družinskega življenja v Evropi' (Changing patterns of European family life). Rezultati teh študij so pokazali, da je povezovanje formalnih in neformalnih virov pri zadovoljevanju potreb družine in njenih clanov bolj pogosto pri socialnih skupinah, ki živijo v urbanih okoljih, kot pri tistih, ki živijo v suburbanih in ruralnih okoljih. Ugotovljene so mocne povezave delovnega in družinskega življenja na individualnem nivoju tako z vidika pozitivnih kot negativnih vplivov, obstajajo pa znacilne spolne razlike tako v vsebini kot v intenziteti teh vplivov. Kasnejše študije, ki so bile usmerjene na povezovanje med kazalci kakovosti na razlicnih podrocjih življenja, so te ugotovitve potrdile in poglobile vpogled v dejavnike osebnega blagostanja. Le redke analize javnih politik povezanih z družino upoštevajo tako družbene kot individualne vidike. Še najvec informacij je o oblikah otroškega varstva, ki že desetletja potrjujejo, da starši pri varstvu otrok starih do treh let izkorišcajo predvsem družinske in neformalne vire, medtem ko za starejše otroke uporabljajo fomalne oblike varstva. Nezadovoljene potrebe staršev po vecji pestrosti in prožnosti tako otroškega varstva kot možnostih za povezovanje družinskega in delovnega življenja so izražene v vecih empiricnih študijah. Novejše študije izpostavljajo pojav 'odgovornega starševstva', ki implicira visoke kriterije glede materialnih in socialnih virov, ko se mladi odlocajo za osnovanje družine prokreacije.

Sistematicna raziskovanja v organizacijah o problematiki spola, družine ter odnosov med družinskim in delovnim življenjem so šele na zacetku. V primerjavi z drugimi državami Evropske unije imajo organizacije v Sloveniji sorazmerno nizko število formalnh politik na podrocju upravljanja s cloveškimi viri in sorazmerno veliko neformalnih politik. Raziskave v organizacijah so predvsem usmerjene na organizacijsko kulturo, vodenje in motivacije za delo.

V sredini 70tih let se je zacelo raziskovanje o življenjskih pogojih in se v sredini 80tih let preusmerilo v raziskovanje kakovosti življenja. V številnih študijah je bilo potrjeno na osnovi tako imenovanih deskriptivnih in evalvativnih kazalcev, da imajo družine s predšolskimi otroki v primerjavi z ostali skupinami najslabše materialne pogoje življenja. Študije kakovosti življenja na podrocju družine, dela in prostega casa so ugotovile spolne razlike v vzorcih vedenja kot tudi spolne razlike v dejavnikih zdravja in subjektivnega blagostanja. Anketa o porabi casa, dopolnjena s kazalci sprejemanja/dajanja pomoci in drugimi relevantnimi kazalci osebnega blagostanja, ki jo je izvedel SURS (2000/2001) predstavlja dobro bazo podatkov za raziskovanje kakovosti življenja mladih staršev kot tudi njihovih strategij spoprijemanja z zahtevami vsakdanjega življenja.

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Summary of the Slovenian Literature review

Research focused specifically on the transition to parenthood and young families in Slovenia is rather rare. During the last few years these research topics have been investigated at the Faculty of social sciences (Centre for social psychology and Organisations and human resources research centre), at the Institute for economic research, Ljubljana and the Scientific research centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. National fertility surveys give most information regarding the decisions to have children and about value orientations of young people, young parents and other population segments. The research topics related to young families are: the reasons for postponed parenting, motivations to have a child, the problems and quality of life of young families. However there are quite a number of studies regarding family issues, gender division of labour, work family relations, and quality of life on representative samples of Slovenian population. Beside the above-mentioned fertility surveys the only systematic and longitudinal studies have been Public opinion surveys and Quality of life surveys. A popular research topic in Slovenia, which is rather relevant for understanding the transition to parenthood and young families issues, is gender division of labour in private and public sphere and international value studies. All the other studies interesting for the goals of Slovenian part of the project, are, from the empirical point of view, rather partial or mainly cover the theoretical perspectives with some statistical illustrations from Slovenia or other countries. They cover the following topics: individualisation, pluralisation of family forms and life courses, changing gender roles, new fatherhood, myth of motherhood, marginalisation of some family forms and social groups.

Research on parenting strategies and work family boundaries begun in the early 80’s with two extensive project, those are: “Testing new methods for extending family use of social and rehabilitation services” and “The International comparative study: Changing patterns of European family life “. The results of these studies indicated that the combination of formal and informal resources in satisfying family needs is more often used in social groups living in urban areas compared to those living in suburban and rural areas. As far as work family boundaries are concerned the strong interconnections between work and family life with positive as well as with negative influences have been indicated but with significant gender differences in content as well as in their intensity. Later studies focused on quality of life indicators in various life spheres confirmed the above-mentioned results and give an insight into determinants of subjective well-being. Analysis of public policies related to family indicate the lack of empirical data on which the evaluations of social policy measures could be based. The studies focused on forms of child care confirmed the earlier studies that parents mainly rely on family or informal resources for children aged up to 3 years, while for older children the formal forms of child-care are prevailing, and that parents express the need for greater variety in child care options and flexibility related to work and family life. The recent studies have brought forward the phenomenon of responsible parenthood that implies also high criteria for material and social security resources when young people decide to form their families of procreation.

The systematic research on organisations regarding gender and family issues, flexibilisation of work and family life and research on careers began in the early years of this century. Compared to other European countries organisations in Slovenia have few formal human resources policies and a high number of informal ones. Research in organisations has been mainly focused on organisational culture, leadership and motivational aspect for work.

In the mid 70’s the level of living studies begun, which in the second part of the 80’s transformed into quality of life studies. It has been confirmed in several studies on the basis of descriptive and evaluative indicators that the families with preschool children has the worse material conditions compared with the other social groups. The studies took into account quality of life in family, work and leisure indicated gender differences in patterns of behaviour as well gender differentiated determinants of health and subjective well-being. The time use survey with additional questionnaires on help giving/receiving patterns and subjectively perceived health status conducted by Statistical office of the Republic of Slovenia between April 2000 and march 2001 will give the possibilities for extended research on quality of life of young parents and their strategies in coping with everyday demands.

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Summary of the French literature review

Numerous research has been devoted to family issues and, in particular, to relationships and interactions between members of this institution. Against this background and taking into account the rise in mothers’ participation in the labour market, emphasis is often put on “active fathering” and the changing role of fathers. Studies underline the aspirations of an increasing number of young fathers to be more involved in family life. They also point out the “sticking points” for putting into practice these aspirations: some authors argue that gender ideologies continue to be potent in French society or focus on professional constraints and long working hours.

Experiences of parenthood are frequently investigated and the concept of “parentalité” is increasingly debated. As a matter of fact, public debates around the gender equality issue in the political and professional arenas and controversies linked to gay couples claiming the right to adopt a child have given momentum to research in these areas.

A lot of surveys have been carried out on the impact of the schemes (child care provision, parental leave, flexible working hours) put in place by public policies to support working parents. The aim was to explore how they use them and to what extent they improve the ways in which they reconcile their job and family obligations. Studies demonstrate the complex management of child care arrangements that working parents are obliged to rely on, in particular when both parents work atypical hours. However, there is a paucity of research on possible adverse effects of flexible and unfriendly working conditions on decision-making about the transition to parenthood. Some studies suggest that these current changing working patterns undermine the positive influence of the reduction of working time (35-hour law put in place in 2000) (a majority of parents spend more time with their children than before) because they reduce parents’ abilities to manage work and non-work commitments.

Some studies have explored the consequences of unemployment on fertility behaviour and have demonstrated the negative influence of economic uncertainty on family formation: young couples confronted with unemployment are more likely to postpone a birth than other couples.
Eventually, as far as transitions are concerned, a dynamic approach and longitudinal studies among cohorts would be necessary for a better understanding of negotiations, trade-offs and compromises made at each stage of their life cycle.

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