Work-Life Balance as an Indicator of Job
Quality in Europe
Sonja Drobnič
University of Hamburg
Academia Sinica, 19 May 2011
S. Drobnič
Outline of the presentation
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European Employment Strategy 2001
Work–Life Balance: theoretical considerations
Job demands and job resources
Capabilities approach by Amartya Sen
Work–Life conflict in Germany and Spain
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European Employment Strategy 2001
• Shift in EU policy objectives in the area of employment and
social integration under the slogan:
‘Not just more jobs but also better jobs’
• Policy objectives formulated in terms of common indicators
and measurable targets
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Groups of Indicators for monitoring employment quality (Laeken
Indicators):
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intrinsic job quality;
skills, life-long learning and career development;
gender equality;
health and safety at work;
flexibility and security;
inclusion and access to the labour market;
work organization and work–life balance;
social dialogue and worker involvement;
diversity and non-discrimination;
overall economic performance and productivity.
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The EU definition of job quality:
• Multi-dimensional approach, including
objective characteristics of the job
subjective evaluations by workers
workers’ characteristics
the match between the worker and the job
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Groups of Indicators for monitoring employment quality (Laeken
Indicators):
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intrinsic job quality;
skills, life-long learning and career development;
gender equality;
health and safety at work;
flexibility and security;
inclusion and access to the labour market;
work organization and work–life balance;
social dialogue and worker involvement;
diversity and non-discrimination;
overall economic performance and productivity.
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What is Work-Life Balance (WLB)?
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Shorthand for „work“ and „the rest of life“
Life domains in which people perform different roles
Theory of role strain (Goode 1960)
Role conflict due to conflict in time, place, resources  total
role obligations are overdemanding
• Enhancement arguments (Marks 1977; Sieber 1974) suggest
that engagement in multiple life roles can generate social and
economic resources
• Research on the work-family interface has been heavily
dominated by a conflict perspective
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Resources-Demands Approach
• When role demands and resources in one domain are
incomatible with role demands and resources in the other
domain  conflict
• Types of demands:
time-based
strain-based
behavior-based
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What is Work-Life Balance (WLB)?
• Mechanisms that span various life domains: spillover,
segmentation, and compensation
• “Balance” another ill-defined term (methaphor)
• ‘Perceptual phenomenon characterized by a sense of having
achieved a satisfactory resolution of the multiple demands of
work and family domains; equilibrium or an overall sense of
harmony in life… ‘
• Measurement: balance level, satisfaction with WLB
• But in most studies, the opposite is studied: tensions,
interference, conflict
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Work – Life (Family, Home, Nonwork) Interface
• Type and direction of interaction:
Negative aspects of Work–Life Interface: work–family
conflict, interference
Positive aspects of Work–Life Interface: work-family
facilitation, enhacement…
Bi-directional concept: work can interfere with or facilitate
the family/home domain AND family can interfere with or
facilitate the work domain
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Work – Life (Family, Home, Nonwork) Interface
• Two important considerations:
Work-to-Home spillover more prevailing and „stronger“ than
Home-to-Work spillover  job characteristics and working
conditions (job quality) are of primary importance
Societal context plays a very important role
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The level of work-to-family conflict in the EU countries
• Reference: Chung, Heejung (2011): „Work-Family Conflict across 28
European Countries: A Multi-Level Approach” in Sonja Drobnič and Ana
Guillén (eds.) Work-Life Balance in Europe. The Role of Job Quality.
Palgrave Macmillan.
• (Data: European Quality of Life Survey 2007)
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WHTC
Several
times
a month
WHTC
Several
times
a week (A)
WFRC
Several
times a
month (B)
Both WFC
(A+B)
Belgium
36.4
13.9
28.2
10.3
Denmark
39.9
13.7
21.6
7.5
Germany
39.1
13.3
24.3
9.7
Greece
71.8
34.8
45.6
27.0
Spain
58.1
31.2
37.8
22.7
Finland
43.5
16.6
19.9
9.3
France
46.6
22.1
17.3
9.0
Ireland
45.3
14.9
24.8
8.7
Italy
36.8
17.3
24.8
12.5
Netherlands
37.3
15.4
29.3
10.9
Austria
45.2
12.2
31.6
10.5
Portugal
46.5
25.6
29.2
17.7
Sweden
46.3
16.8
18.6
9.0
UK
52.4
28.8
28.8
19.0
Bulgaria
65.8
29.4
45.6
23.1
Cyprus
68.0
37.8
41.0
26.5
Czech Rep.
57.4
23.6
38.4
18.3
Estonia
62.3
38.7
34.0
22.9
61.9
26.8
40.6
21.9
Hungary
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Individuals with workhousehold task conflict
(WHTC) and workfamily responsibility
conflict (WFRC) across
European countries
(weighted averages)
Latvia
60.8
34.9
47.3
29.2
Lithuania
53.4
24.8
40.1
20.5
Malta
58.5
32.0
29.3
18.3
Poland
56.8
21.6
43.7
18.2
Romania
64.9
30.8
46.7
24.0
Slovakia
45.1
11.6
30.8
9.4
Slovenia
54.1
28.8
42.7
26.4
Norway
40.0
14.6
23.4
9.6
Average
48.2
21.6
29.6
14.9
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Individuals with workhousehold task conflict
(WHTC) and workfamily responsibility
conflict (WFRC) across
European countries
(weighted averages)
Study of Work-Home Interference (WHI) in
Germany and Spain
• WHI in relation to work-Iife balance: it draws attention to
tensions
• WHI in relation to work-family interference: also
employees without family-care responsibilities face the
challenge of integration work and nonwork roles.
• WHI has been linked to decreased job and life satisfaction
and a whole range of stress-related outcomes and family
outcomes, as well as social problems such as lower
productivity, declining birth rates, ageing of society,
gender inequality…
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Resources-Demands Theoretical Framework
Work demands:
time-based (e.g. long working hours, overtime,
organizational time expectations...)
strain-based demands (work overload, work pressure,
work distress, job insecurity…)
Work resources: job autonomy, career opportunities,…
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But…
… why are certain job characteristics differentially perceived
as resources or stressors by the employees?
… what is the role of broader institutional and societal
arrangment?
… how can significant country differences be explained
within the resources-demands framework?
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The Capability Approach (Amartya Sen)
• A key assumption in this framework ist that work-life
balance and avoidance of WHI is a valuable functioning that
enhances capabilities and agency for attaining a better
quality of life and increase an individual’s well-being.
• Sen explores well-being in terms of a person’s ability to do
valuable acts or reach valuable states of being („what
people are effectively be able to do or to be“)
• In our analysis, we focus on the means and resources
individuals have to achieve the functioning. Sen refers to
these means and resources as a ‘capability set’.
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The Capability Approach (Amartya Sen)
• We contend that high quality jobs generate capabilities
that allow incumbents to achieve work-home balance, and
reduce negative interference between work and home
• To assess a person’s capability set, broader societal
context has to be taken into account to understand how
societal resources can be translated into agency and
capability.
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Institutional Context: Germany and Spain
• Both can be described as states of a Bismarckian system of
social security
• Spanish welfare state: conservative familialist
Family plays a significant role as a care giver and bears high
responsibility for the welfare of its members
• German welfare state: conservative corporatist
State takes considerably more responsibilities in form of family
benefits. Benefits are allocated to families and not directly to
dependents (as it would be the case in social-democratic welfare
regimes)
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The Labor Market
• Spain: dualized labor market, flexibilization through
temporary employment, part-time employment less
important; young workers particularly affected
• Germany: part-time (female) employment high, youth
unemployment not higher than in other age groups; still
large differences between East/West parts of Germany
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0
2 5
5 0
7 5
1 0 0
The Labor Market
1995
2000
Spain: Males
Germany: Males
2005
Spain: Females
Germany: Females
Source: Eurostat
Labor force participation rates in Germany and Spain
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Gender Relations and Family models
• Both countries: traditionally male-breadwinner family model
but changing rapidly
• In spite of dramatic increase in women‘s educational level
persisting wage gap
• Family policies, parental leave: less generous in Spain.
• Recent changes in leave policies in both countries (the aim is
to increase fertility, increase fathers‘ participation in child
care…)
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Women‘s Labor Force
Participation Rate by
Age of Youngest
Child 2005 (age 25-49)
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Women‘s Labor Force
Participation Rate by
Age of Youngest
Child 2005 (age 25-49)
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Women‘s
Labor Force
Participation
Rate by
Number of
Children 2005
(age 25-49)
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Women‘s Labor
Force
Participation
Rate by Number
of Children 2005
(age 25-49)
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Data analysis: WHI in Germany and Spain
• European Quality of Life Survey, EQLS 2003
• European Social Survey, ESS 2004
• European Social Survey, ESS 2006
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Measurement of WHI
• European Quality of Life survey (2003):
• I have come home from work too tired to do some of the
household jobs which need to be done (strain-based
demands)
• It has been difficult for me to fulfil my family
responsibilities because of the amount of time I spend on
the job (time-based demands)
Several times a week
Several times a month
Several times a year
Less often/rarely
Never
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Measurement of WHI
European Quality of Life survey (2003):
• I have come home from work too tired to do some of the
household jobs which need to be done (strain-based
demands)
• It has been difficult for me to fulfil my family
responsibilities because of the amount of time I spend on
the job (time-based demands)
Several times a week
Several times a month
Several times a year
Less often/rarely
Never
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WHI (binary variable): if any of
the two items experienced
several times a week.
Measurement of WHI
European Social Survey II 2004:
• How often do you feel too tired after work to enjoy the
things you would like to do at home?
• How often do you find that your job prevents you from
giving the time you want to your partner or family?
• How often do you keep worrying about work problems
when you are not working?
• How often do you find that your partner or family gets fed
up with the pressure of your job?
Never
Hardly ever
Sometimes
Often
Always
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WHI (dummy): if at least one of the four problems
always or two or more of the four problems is
experiences often
Measurement of WHI
• European Social Survey III 2006:
“How satisfied are you with the balance between the time you
spend on your paid work and the time you spend on other
aspects of your life?”
extremely dissatisfied …………………………... extremely satisfied
0
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Aim of the Study
• Assessing job characteristics and working conditions as
resources or means to people‘s capabilities and achieved
functionings
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Work demands – resources
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Working hours: < 30, 30-39, 40-45, > 45
Long commuting
Job demanding / stressful
Tight deadlines
Job dangerous / unhealthy
Job insecurity
Job autonomy
Good career prospects
…
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Job characteristics and WHI / satisfaction with WLB
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Children and WHI / satisfaction with WLB
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Outcomes
• Strong association between working conditions and WHI
• Negative impact on employees in general: long working
hours, hard, demanding, stressful work, time pressure,
working under tight deadlines, dangerous, unhealthy job.
• These job characteristics increase WHI and/or decrease
satisfaction with WLB
• Positive impact of job resources: interesting job, being
appropriately paid
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Outcomes
• Unexpected result: job control and job autonomy 
higher WHI
• Negative impact of job insecurity for men only
• Positive impact of good career prospects in Germany only
• No effect of parental status on WHI/satisfaction with WLB
 this is a surprising result in view of the „double burden“
hypothesis
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Conclusions
• The quality of jobs matters!
• Workplace characteristics and jobs in many ways constrain
German and Spanish employees in their capabilities for
avoiding tensions between work and nonwork life.
Time pressure and working hard are particularly detrimental to
WLB.
• Interesting jobs, jobs with good career prospects and
satisfactory pay increase the potential of individuals to achieve
work-life balance and well-being.
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Conclusions
• Particularly problematic: Measures that should expand
capabilities for balancing life domains (work control, job
autonomy) increase WHI instead.
• Job control is a particularly important from the capabilities
perspective. Job control or autonomy is conceptualized as a
work resource and is hypothesized to expand individuals’
capabilities and agency.
However, there is an agency gap in WLB: employees cannot
translate capabilities into agency.
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Conclusions
• Little association between personal characteristics (age,
education) as well as children and WHI
Possible reasons:
- inadequate measurement of WHI and satisfaction measures
- Sample selection bias for women in Germany and Spain:
mothers of young children with presumably highest WHI are
not in the labor force.
Employed mothers in Germany and Spain are a select group of
women, as combining employment with raising children in
conservative-corporatist and conservative-familialist states
may be particularly problematic.
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Conclusions
• The institutional contexts of Germany and Spain curtail
women’s ability to reconcile employment and parenthood.
Women who are more likely to be employed are those with
more resources.
• Mothers may select out of long working hours and working
conditions that generate WHI.
• Parents have lower sense of entitlement, downplay difficulties.
• WHI of non-parents may be underestimated: contemporary
working conditions make work-home interface problematic
also for employees without caring responsibilities.
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• This study will be published in:
• Sonja Drobnič and Ana M. Guillén (2011): “Tensions Between
Work and Home: Job Quality and Working Conditions in the
Institutional Contexts of Germany and Spain”. Social Politics
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