Work-Life Balance in Europe - The Role of Job Quality

This volume addresses tensions between work and private life by focusing on job quality, job security, working conditions and time-use patterns of individuals and households on the one hand, and the institutional context, such as family policy institutions, and other country characteristics on the other. The length of time spent on work, job characteristics, and working conditions in general to a large extent influences the degree to which people are able to combine work and other important life domains, such as family, care and social life. Jobs which facilitate a more favourable combination of people's work and personal lives lead to a better work-life balance and higher life satisfaction, which in turn might increase identification and satisfaction with one's job and work productivity. This book explores which work-related demands and work-related resources interfere with, or facilitate, the work-life interface, and how these factors interact with the institutional settings.

Introduction; S.Drobnič & A.M.Guillén Working Hours, Autonomy, and Work-family Conflict: a Multi-level Approach; H.Chung Job Quality and Work-life Balance: A Comparison of Parents and Older Workers in Europe; C.Fagan & P.Walthéry Job Quality, Work–family Tensions and Well-being: the Finnish Case; M.Salmi & J.Lammi-Taskula Job Demands and Work-family Conflict: Empirical Evidence from Service Sector Employees in Eight European Countries; B.Beham & S.Drobnič Part-time in Skilled Jobs: The Case of the U.K., the Netherlands and Spain; Z.Ibáñez Policies and Practices in Care; T.Rostgaard Time with Children: Parents' Active Childcare in Different Family Policy Models; M.Bygren, A.Duvander & T.Ferrarini Tensions between Work and Private Life in Spanish Dual-income Couples; S.Dema Concluding Thoughts on Tensions between Work and Private Life and Policy Responses; A.M.Guillén