Balancing work and family: Western Europe versus Eastern Europe
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2005 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | XXV International Population Conference IUSSP |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Sociology, demography |
| Keywords | reconciliation of work and family |
| Description | How employees balance their work and family lives is an area of increasing interest to many scholars from different fields of study. Considerations about work and family balance have developed into a crucial element of policy discussions in nowadays Europe. Although Europe shows more integrated patterns due to the EU enlargement, differences between East and West still persist. The year 1989 represented a major turning point for Eastern Europe, bringing changes to the political, economic and social environments with impact on work and family as well.The main goal of the present paper is to find out the ways in which parents in Europe combine work and family, the problems they experience and the way they cope with them. The paper will also describe the involvement in family and work and the possible differences between eastern and western societies. Western Europe has been regarded as the modern gender archetype, while countries in Central and Eastern Europe have been struggling to attain this model for more than a decade. Elements of modernity and conservatism can be found in both western and eastern societies. |
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