Working time and work-life balance: a policy dilemma?

Seminar on working time and work-life balance: a policy dilemma?
17 October 2006, Brussels, Belgium

Venue: European Parliament PHS 1A002
Time: 9:00-12:30 hrs

This half-day seminar, jointly organised by the European Foundation and the European Parliament (Alejandro Cercas MEP), took place at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday 17 October 2006.

Over 250 participants, including the Finnish and the Spanish ministers of Labour (Tarja Filatov and Jesús Caldera), the President of the European Parliament Josep Borrell and several MEPs, as well as the Foundation’s Director Jorma Karppinen and research staff exchanged views on the two themes of:

• models of working time in Europe: policy options and practical limitations

• combining flexicurity, competitiveness and an effective work-life balance: a win-win option for both companies and workers?

The event focused on flexible working time arrangements and its consequences for workers and businesses and on the implementation of policies facilitating greater reconciliation between work and family life. Different working patterns over the life course were also explored and discussed (i.e. part-time work, flexitime, leave schemes, etc.), with a special focus on those groups with particularly low employment rates. The current revision of the Working Time Directive was also discussed and most of the speakers had a say on this issue, as shown in their contributions.

Programme with speakers' contributions

Background paper

Contact details

Silvia Arzilli : Information officer – Brussels Liaison Office (European Foundation)

Related publications

• Working time and worklife balance in European companies (report)

• Working time and worklife balance in European companies (summary)

• Working time and worklife balance in European companies (infosheet)

• Reconciliation of work and family life and collective bargaining in the European Union: An analysis of EIRO articles

• Working time options over the life course: New work patterns and company strategies (report)

• Working time options over the life course: Changing social security structures (report)

• Combining family and full-time work

• Annual review of working conditions in the EU: 2005–2006

• Time and work: duration of work

• Part-time work in Europe