Combining family and full-time work

Full-time work has become an increasingly common employment pattern in the European Union, for both sexes, since the enlargement of the EU to 25 countries in 2004. At the same time, there is widespread discussion about working time flexibility as a desired solution to enhancing the work-life balance of working parents. This report shows that such flexibility varies significantly between countries and sexes. However, to better understand the impact of this flexibility on work-life balance, it must be recognised that flexibility can be either positive or negative, and that predictable working time arrangements may also be a good solution for working parents.