Periodic Reporting for period 4 - CAPABLE (Enhancing Capabilities? Rethinking Work-life Policies and their Impact from a New Perspective)
Période du rapport: 2023-06-01 au 2024-11-30
Gender inequality in paid work and care is one of the most persistent social problems of the 21st century. Improving gender equality in work-life balance – how individuals combine paid work with other things like care – is therefore high on policy agendas. CAPABLE is important from a societal perspective because policymakers at all levels struggle to effectively address this inequality, while supporting individuals who face diverse work-life contexts.
CAPABLE generated fundamentally new knowledge on how work-life balance policies impact people’s capabilities for achieving work-life balance in Europe. We developed a new lens for looking at the work-life policy landscape at multiple levels, building on innovative scientific models. We moved beyond traditional approaches to work-life balance, focusing on how policies can enhance people’s capabilities to lead a valued life.
Four objectives were achieved:
1. Investigate the extent to which work-life balance policies enhance men and women’s capabilities to achieve this balance in Europe.
2. Distinguish between work-life policies and the individual, community and social contexts that shape capabilities.
3. Analyse the extent to which work-life policies enhance individual wellbeing.
4. Generate policy tools for developing sustainable work-life balance policies in Europe.
CAPABLE generated fundamentally new knowledge on how work-life balance policies impact people’s capabilities for achieving work-life balance in Europe. We developed a new lens for looking at the work-life policy landscape at multiple levels, building on innovative scientific models. We moved beyond traditional approaches to work-life balance, focusing on how policies can enhance people’s capabilities to lead a valued life.
Four objectives were achieved:
1. Investigate the extent to which work-life balance policies enhance men and women’s capabilities to achieve this balance in Europe.
2. Distinguish between work-life policies and the individual, community and social contexts that shape capabilities.
3. Analyse the extent to which work-life policies enhance individual wellbeing.
4. Generate policy tools for developing sustainable work-life balance policies in Europe.
CAPABLE looked at the European Union’s work-life balance directive in Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. We then looked closely at gender inequality in work-life balance in the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and the UK. We focused on national and local policy in Amsterdam & Nijmegen (NL), Ljubljana & Maribor (SI), Barcelona & Pamplona (ES), and London & Leeds (UK).
Objective 1: To achieve this objective, CAPABLE unpacked work-life policy design at national, sectoral, organizational, and local levels using capability-based policy analysis, as well as quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interviews; focus groups; document analysis) methods. Across 10 publications and multiple presentations, our research shows, for example:
• Accessibility to flexible work arrangements is broader when specified in national legislation (thus not conditional to care obligation)s. Increasing accessibility to flexible work arrangements can, however, increase inequalities between men and women.
• Facilitating flexible work arrangements through collective bargaining offers innovation potential but can also (re)produce inequalities.
• Accessibility of policies targeting parents and carers can be improved by reducing policy complexity and using more simplistic language.
• Accessibility is lower for groups who diverge from the norm (e.g. workers not in stable, permanent employment; parents of children with complex care needs, people with migration backgrounds in need of social care services).
• More attention is needed for accessibility issues related to digitalization of policies and services.
Objective 2: CAPABLE collected unique, comparative quantitative survey data as well as longitudinal interview data with working parents and working. Publications using these data show how gender intersects with individual characteristics to shape what women and men are truly able to do and be when working, caring, and undertaking other activities. For example, people providing help or care to family, friends or others on a consistent basis are often faced with finding information at multiple levels (in the city they live, from their employer, from the national government), across multiple sectors (e.g. health care and social care). These findings have been published scientifically, and presented at academic conferences and stakeholder meetings.
Objective 3: Various forms of quantitative survey data were analysed, and discussions around individual wellbeing also emerged during the longitudinal interviews we conducted. We find, for example, that women’s’ worse mental health is related to the voluntary nature of part-time work as well as financial insecurity. In the Netherlands, with its high levels of part-time work, working fewer hours only reduces stress for women working longer hours part-time jobs and for mothers with young children. CAPABLE survey data also highlights how work-life policies might matter differently depending upon workers’ employment status and work hours.
Objective 4: The CAPABLE project focused on extensive stakeholder engagement, meaning we consulted with policymakers at local, national and European levels, creating actionable findings. For example, in 2023, project findings were used to inform the proposed reform of childcare policy in the Netherlands. In 2024, project findings were used to inform the ongoing development of an advisory report on informal caregiving in the Netherlands (with the Social and Economic Council). Project findings were also used to inform the ongoing development of the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy. In a final stakeholder event, held in November 2024, team members and stakeholders from across Europe discussed ways of leveraging results from the CAPABLE project for developing equitable and sustainable policies for work-life balance, outlined below.
Objective 1: To achieve this objective, CAPABLE unpacked work-life policy design at national, sectoral, organizational, and local levels using capability-based policy analysis, as well as quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interviews; focus groups; document analysis) methods. Across 10 publications and multiple presentations, our research shows, for example:
• Accessibility to flexible work arrangements is broader when specified in national legislation (thus not conditional to care obligation)s. Increasing accessibility to flexible work arrangements can, however, increase inequalities between men and women.
• Facilitating flexible work arrangements through collective bargaining offers innovation potential but can also (re)produce inequalities.
• Accessibility of policies targeting parents and carers can be improved by reducing policy complexity and using more simplistic language.
• Accessibility is lower for groups who diverge from the norm (e.g. workers not in stable, permanent employment; parents of children with complex care needs, people with migration backgrounds in need of social care services).
• More attention is needed for accessibility issues related to digitalization of policies and services.
Objective 2: CAPABLE collected unique, comparative quantitative survey data as well as longitudinal interview data with working parents and working. Publications using these data show how gender intersects with individual characteristics to shape what women and men are truly able to do and be when working, caring, and undertaking other activities. For example, people providing help or care to family, friends or others on a consistent basis are often faced with finding information at multiple levels (in the city they live, from their employer, from the national government), across multiple sectors (e.g. health care and social care). These findings have been published scientifically, and presented at academic conferences and stakeholder meetings.
Objective 3: Various forms of quantitative survey data were analysed, and discussions around individual wellbeing also emerged during the longitudinal interviews we conducted. We find, for example, that women’s’ worse mental health is related to the voluntary nature of part-time work as well as financial insecurity. In the Netherlands, with its high levels of part-time work, working fewer hours only reduces stress for women working longer hours part-time jobs and for mothers with young children. CAPABLE survey data also highlights how work-life policies might matter differently depending upon workers’ employment status and work hours.
Objective 4: The CAPABLE project focused on extensive stakeholder engagement, meaning we consulted with policymakers at local, national and European levels, creating actionable findings. For example, in 2023, project findings were used to inform the proposed reform of childcare policy in the Netherlands. In 2024, project findings were used to inform the ongoing development of an advisory report on informal caregiving in the Netherlands (with the Social and Economic Council). Project findings were also used to inform the ongoing development of the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy. In a final stakeholder event, held in November 2024, team members and stakeholders from across Europe discussed ways of leveraging results from the CAPABLE project for developing equitable and sustainable policies for work-life balance, outlined below.
The CAPABLE project progressed the state of the art scientifically and societally. Scientifically, CAPABLE’s methodological advances provide breakthroughs for comparative policy research as well as for the work-life / work-family research field. The project also led to new interdisciplinary research networks, connecting the CAPABLE project and its findings with researchers in social and behavioural psychology, economics, social work, and urban geography, which has led to further research funding that will progress multiple research fields. Moreover, sharing data gathered in the CAPABLE project is ongoing and facilities knowledge transfers within and across disciplines and continues to contribute to educational development in multiple countries.
CAPABLE has also provided breakthroughs in policy. Through CAPABLE’s ongoing stakeholder engagement, the project has informed local policies (e.g. with the municipalities involved in the project as well as third sector organisations), national policies (e.g. Dutch childcare reforms), and European policy (the revision of the Barcelona targets; ongoing development of the new Gender Equality Strategy). This stakeholder engagement has also helped to inform international discussions.
Emerging from this engagement, several steps were suggested in pursuing sustainable work-life balance policies. This includes facilitating access to information and guidance throughout the caregiving experience for parents and caregivers, particularly when parents and caregivers need to navigate the work context as well as health care and social care systems. Moreover, the accessibility of policies and services can be broadened by reducing administrative burden, ensuring parents and caregivers have sufficient digital skills to access resources, and providing information in multiple languages. The latter is particularly important to ensure accessibility for parents and caregivers with a migrant background. Flexibility for all workers, and not just those with care responsibilities, can also help to counter inequalities if combined with attention for social and organisational gender norms. Broadening the scope of the EU’s Work-Life Balance Directive would be useful in this regard.
CAPABLE has also provided breakthroughs in policy. Through CAPABLE’s ongoing stakeholder engagement, the project has informed local policies (e.g. with the municipalities involved in the project as well as third sector organisations), national policies (e.g. Dutch childcare reforms), and European policy (the revision of the Barcelona targets; ongoing development of the new Gender Equality Strategy). This stakeholder engagement has also helped to inform international discussions.
Emerging from this engagement, several steps were suggested in pursuing sustainable work-life balance policies. This includes facilitating access to information and guidance throughout the caregiving experience for parents and caregivers, particularly when parents and caregivers need to navigate the work context as well as health care and social care systems. Moreover, the accessibility of policies and services can be broadened by reducing administrative burden, ensuring parents and caregivers have sufficient digital skills to access resources, and providing information in multiple languages. The latter is particularly important to ensure accessibility for parents and caregivers with a migrant background. Flexibility for all workers, and not just those with care responsibilities, can also help to counter inequalities if combined with attention for social and organisational gender norms. Broadening the scope of the EU’s Work-Life Balance Directive would be useful in this regard.