How European women and men use their time? The Cinderella effect Cracow 21 st October 2011 Mechanisms for reconciling work and family life for women and men as a chance to actively participate in the labour market Maija Lyly-Yrjänäinen, Eurofound

Outline of the presentation Findings from the 5 th European Working Conditions Survey Paid working time for men and women Working time arrangements Balancing between work and family Unpaid working hours Some conclusions based on the 2010 survey data

Paid working hours in European countries

Working time of households with at least one partner working – breadwinner models

Majority have standard working hours women more often than men 67% work the same hours every week 58% work the same hours every day 77% work the same days every week 61% start and finish the work at the same times every day

Some work in atypical manner this might create work life balance problems 19% have long days at least 4 times a month 10% do night work at least 4 times a month 53% work at the weekend at least once a month 17% do shift work 20% work on call

Working time arrangements at the workplace

Good fit between working hours and social commitments by country

Fit between working hours and private commitments Which elements contribute? 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

Working in free time by gender and household situation

Total working hours by age and gender Hours spent in main and second job, commuting and unpaid work

Total working hours by household composition

Some conclusions – How to achieve better balance? Providing support for those who have caring responsibilities Parents have the biggest difficulty in striking the balance As Europeans are ageing also other caring work will increase Working time arrangements have a significant impact Part-time working and avoiding long hours would help … However prolonged part-time working penalises in terms of income and career Flexibility but also predictability Country differences: the role of culture and institutions Towards gender equality More equal sharing of both the breadwinner burden, and household and caring work

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