Abstract
Purpose - This paper investigates the effect of flexible working conditions on work-family conflict in European countries. Flexible work has increasingly been used by employers to adapt to the demands of economic competition, often at the expense of employee’s demands. Yet, at the same time, flexible work can provide a means to better combine work and family obligations. Our paper seeks to explore which of these effects dominates for different types of flexible employment, paying specific attention to gender-specific effects. In addition to looking at flexible work forms as a phenomenon per se, specific attention is given to the experience of different types of employment flexibilization throughout the financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach - For our cross-national analysis of work-life-conflict, we employ the latest wave of the European Social Survey (ESS) from 2010, featuring a module on "Family, work and well-being", which also allows for a specific consideration of changes in employment relationships since the financial crisis in 2008. Binomial logistic regression is used to identify determinants of work-life-conflict both on the micro- and the macro-level. Findings - For both genders, irregularity and unpredictability of working hours negatively impact on work-life conflict beyond the mere amount of working hours. Yet, higher autonomy in choosing one’s work time is used very differently: While women tend to use their control over working hours to achieve a better work-life-balance, men tend to use these arrangements to increase their work commitment, thereby enhancing their perceived work-family conflict. We argue that this gender-specific use of flexible work arrangements might still reflect the traditional gender roles and gender-segregated labour market structures. Adding to previous literature, we furthermore demonstrate that gender-specific differences are also apparent in the effects of the most recent economic crisis.Originality/value - While earlier literature has investigated the link between the emergence of different kinds of flexible work on work-life-conflict, little attention has been paid to their gender-specific nature. By examining the effects of various types of flexible employment separately for men and women, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the gender-specific effects of flexible work arrangements on work-family-conflict within European countries. Furthermore, it analyses not only the effects of flexible work forms per se, but additionally highlights most recent transformations throughout the European financial crisis since 2008.
Purpose - This paper investigates the effect of flexible working conditions on work-family conflict in European countries. Flexible work has increasingly been used by employers to adapt to the demands of economic competition, often at the expense of employee’s demands. Yet, at the same time, flexible work can provide a means to better combine work and family obligations. Our paper seeks to explore which of these effects dominates for different types of flexible employment, paying specific attention to gender-specific effects. In addition to looking at flexible work forms as a phenomenon per se, specific attention is given to the experience of different types of employment flexibilization throughout the financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach - For our cross-national analysis of work-life-conflict, we employ the latest wave of the European Social Survey (ESS) from 2010, featuring a module on "Family, work and well-being", which also allows for a specific consideration of changes in employment relationships since the financial crisis in 2008. Binomial logistic regression is used to identify determinants of work-life-conflict both on the micro- and the macro-level. Findings - For both genders, irregularity and unpredictability of working hours negatively impact on work-life conflict beyond the mere amount of working hours. Yet, higher autonomy in choosing one’s work time is used very differently: While women tend to use their control over working hours to achieve a better work-life-balance, men tend to use these arrangements to increase their work commitment, thereby enhancing their perceived work-family conflict. We argue that this gender-specific use of flexible work arrangements might still reflect the traditional gender roles and gender-segregated labour market structures. Adding to previous literature, we furthermore demonstrate that gender-specific differences are also apparent in the effects of the most recent economic crisis.Originality/value - While earlier literature has investigated the link between the emergence of different kinds of flexible work on work-life-conflict, little attention has been paid to their gender-specific nature. By examining the effects of various types of flexible employment separately for men and women, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the gender-specific effects of flexible work arrangements on work-family-conflict within European countries. Furthermore, it analyses not only the effects of flexible work forms per se, but additionally highlights most recent transformations throughout the European financial crisis since 2008.