Work-life balance, gender inequality and health outcomes Findings from the 5 th European Working Conditions Survey Gijs van Houten Eurofound 5 th International FOHNEU Congress on Occupational Health Tarragona, 19-21 September 2012
Content Eurofound and the European Working Conditions Survey Work-life balance: patterns and determinants Gender inequality at the work-place The impact of work-life balance on health and wellbeing Conclusions Reports and data
Eurofound surveys and observatories European Working Conditions Survey 91, 95, 00, 05, 10 European Quality of Life Survey 03, 07, ( 09, 10 (EB)), 11 European Company Survey 04/ 05, 09, 13 Monitoring living and working conditions in the EU European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) European Restructuring Monitor (ERM/EMCC) European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO) European Jobs Monitor
5 th European Working Conditions Survey 5 waves: 1991, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010 43816 interviews in 34 countries (EU and its neighbours) Surveying workers Face to face interviews at peoples homes Same questionnaire translated in all language
Albania Greece Turkey FYROM Italy Montenegro Slovenia Spain Latvia Lithuania Bulgaria Hungary Croatia France Czech Republic Malta Estonia Cyprus Portugal Kosovo EU27 Germany Luxembourg Belgium Poland Slovakia Finland Sweden Romania Ireland Austria United Kingdom Netherlands Norway Denmark Fit between working time and other commitments, by country 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Very well Well Not very well Not at all well
Turkey Albania Greece Kosovo Romania FYROM Montenegro Bulgaria Croatia Poland Slovakia Czech Republic Hungary Slovenia Malta Cyprus Lithuania Latvia Portugal Estonia Luxembourg Spain EU27 Sweden Finland Belgium Italy Austria Germany United Kingdom France Norway Ireland Denmark Netherlands Average weekly working hours, by country 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 EWCS, 2010
No children No children No children No children No children No children No children No children No children No children No children Fit between working time and social commitments, by gender and household wage earner model 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men* Women Male breadwinner Modified male breadwinner Both partners work full time Both partners work part time Modified female breadwinner Female breadwinner not very well not at all well EWCS, 2010
Czech Republic Slovakia Slovenia Lithuania Cyprus Finland Bulgaria Denmark France Hungary Portugal Croatia Estonia Poland Norway Latvia Sweden Spain EU27 Italy Greece Luxembourg Belgium Montenegro Romania Germany Austria Albania United Kingdom Ireland Malta FYROM Turkey Kosovo Netherlands Household wage earner models in Europe 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% both partners work fulltime modified male breadwinner male breadwinner both partners work parttime female breadwinner modified female breadwinner EWCS, 2010
Poor fit between working time and other commitments, by gender and age 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% male female male female male female male female under 35 35-49 50+ Total Not very well Not at all well EWCS, 2010
Freedom to set working time schedules, by gender and age 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Men Women Men Women Men Women Under 35 35-49 50+ set by company/organisation adaptable within certain limits choice between several fixed working schedules entirely self-determined EWCS, 2010
Agriculture Financial services Public administration and defence Other services Industry Construction Wholesale, retail, food and accommodation Education Health Transport Difficulty of arranging time off for emergencies, by sector 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% not difficult at all not too difficult somewhat difficult very difficult EWCS, 2010
men women Number of hours spent on paid and unpaid work per week, by gender and working time part time full time part time paid work commuting time unpaid work full time 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 EWCS, 2010
Number of hours spent on paid and unpaid work per week, by gender and family situation 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Single, no children Single parent Couple, no children Couple with children Single, no children Single parent Couple, no children Couple with children Men Women paid working hours commuting time unpaid working hours EWCS, 2010
Determinants of work life balance Individual and household characteristics Compared to single parents, workers who do not have children are more likely to have balance Working time features Likely to have balance: part-time work, flexibility in working time arrangements, working the same hours every day, having fixed starting and finishing times, not difficult to take time off during working hours Not likely to have balance: working long hours, night work, evening work and weekend work
Gender distribution of occupation, by gender 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% men women 10% 0% male dominated mixed female dominated clerical occupations male dominated mixed female dominated manual occupations EWCS, 2010
Income categories, by gender and age (full time workers only) EWCS, 2010
Impact of work-life balance on health and wellbeing Absenteeism (>5 days) Presenteeism Poor general health (fair, bad, very bad) Mental health at risk (WHO 5) Able to do job at 60 posture and movement related risks subjected to bullying or harassment working hours fit with other commitments easy to take time off for private matters job insecurity men women men women men women men women men women low 20% 23% 38% 38% 16% 17% 15% 19% 73% 69% high 25% 26% 38% 44% 25% 30% 20% 26% 47% 46% no 21% 23% 35% 38% 19% 21% 16% 20% 61% 60% yes 33% 32% 54% 58% 29% 30% 27% 32% 45% 47% no 23% 27% 49% 50% 28% 32% 28% 34% 47% 42% yes 23% 24% 35% 39% 19% 21% 15% 20% 62% 62% no 28% 28% 40% 44% 24% 27% 22% 25% 50% 50% yes 20% 22% 37% 40% 19% 20% 16% 20% 64% 64% no 23% 25% 37% 40% 19% 20% 16% 20% 62% 61% yes 24% 25% 41% 44% 27% 31% 28% 31% 43% 47%
Conclusions (1) Provide support for those with care responsibilities Parents have the biggest difficulty in striking the balance Ageing of the European population will increase care responsibilities Working time arrangements have a significant impact Avoiding long hours helps, as does working part time, however prolonged part-time working often also has negative consequences, i.e. lower income and less career opportunities Flexible and predictable working time arrangements benefit work-life balance
Country differences Conclusions (2) Different cultural and institutional settings require different tailormade solutions Multilevel and multipartite involvement can help to find these solutions as well as to generate support for their implementation Towards gender equality More equal sharing of both the breadwinner burden and of household and care work Persistent segregation, inequality and gender-based discrimination at the workplace requires on-going attention
Reports and data Changes over time First findings from the fifth European Working Conditions Survey Published 15 November 2010 Overview Report of the Fifth European Working Conditions Survey Launched on 12 April 2012 Secondary analyses on working time and on work and gender Reports to be published early 2013 UK Data archive Survey mapping tool on Eurofound website
Thank you for your attention! www.eurofound.europa.eu gvh@eurofound.europa.eu