Family, Work and Welfare Policies: Looking at Central, Eastern and Southern Europe
Family, Work and Welfare Policies: Looking at Central, Eastern and Southern Europe

Summary/Abstract: This paper takes an innovative look at work-family policies and, in particular, at the current work-family reconciliation issues, in different European countries: the relational differentiation in work/family issues. This relational differentiation shapes the specialization of different life spheres, or subsystems, (family and work) through new forms of interchange which are characterized by spill-over functions and which make use of a code of mutual referencing to specialize for interrelations between subsystems. How is the situation evolving in Europe, and towards which model – functional, or relational differentiation? This paper wishes to answer these questions. These concerns are all the more pressing in the current climate/given the current social and political situation. New countries have joined the EU, thereby leading to a change of previous balances and structures, and there is a commitment on the part of all nations, in compliance with the indications provided by the European masterplan. Policies and, in general, whole legislative apparatuses pertaining to work-family measures, have thus been introduced or extensively reviewed/modified. A comparison between Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, with in-depth studies regarding different geographical contexts, will highlight emerging tendencies in family and work choices and the best policies concerning this topic.

• Details
• Contents