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National context in work-life research: A multi-level cross-national analysis of the adoption of workplace work-life arrangements in Europe

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  • Den Dulk, Laura
  • Groeneveld, Sandra
  • Ollier-Malaterre, Ariane
  • Valcour, Monique

Abstract

This study focuses on nation-level drivers of organizations’ adoption of leaves/childcare and flexible work arrangements (FWA) beyond what is mandated by the state. It is one of the first studies to examine interaction effects between nation-level and organization-level variables. Drawing on institutional theory and work-life research, we focus on three nation-level variables: state support for combining work and family life (original measure including statutory parental leave, public childcare and the entitlement to extend or reduce working hours), cultural centrality of work (measure derived from the World Value Survey, a large project led by Inglehart and colleagues that measures values in more than 50 countries) and male unemployment rate. We test the interactions of these variables with organizational size, sector and proportion of female employees using a data set of 19,516 organizations in 19 European countries (Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance 2004–2005). State support for combining work and family life was positively associated with the adoption of leaves/childcare and FWA; cultural centrality of work was negatively associated with leaves/childcare and FWA; male unemployment rate was not significantly associated with any. Public sector and large organizations were more sensitive to state support, cultural centrality of work and male unemployment than private sector and small organizations. In contrast, organizations employing a greater proportion of female employees were less sensitive to state support. These findings illustrate that organizational policies are influenced by the national contexts in which they are embedded, although some organizations are more sensitive to these contexts than others.

Suggested Citation

  • Den Dulk, Laura & Groeneveld, Sandra & Ollier-Malaterre, Ariane & Valcour, Monique, 2013. "National context in work-life research: A multi-level cross-national analysis of the adoption of workplace work-life arrangements in Europe," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 478-494.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:31:y:2013:i:5:p:478-494
    DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2013.04.010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yvonne Lott & Clare Kelliher & Heejung Chung, 2022. "Reflecting the changing world of work? A critique of existing survey measures and a proposal for capturing new ways of working," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 28(4), pages 457-473, November.
    2. Ariane Pailhé & Anne Solaz, 2019. "Is there a wage cost for employees in family‐friendly workplaces? The effect of different employer policies," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(5), pages 688-721, June.
    3. Ollier-Malaterre, Ariane & Valcour, Monique & Den Dulk, Laura & Kossek, Ellen Ernst, 2013. "Theorizing national context to develop comparative work–life research: A review and research agenda," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 433-447.
    4. Jack Lam & Martin O’Flaherty & Janeen Baxter, 2018. "Dynamics of Parental Work Hours, Job Security, and Child Behavioural Problems in Australian Dual-Earner Families," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(5), pages 1477-1493, October.
    5. Groen, Bianca A.C. & van Triest, Sander P. & Coers, Michael & Wtenweerde, Neeke, 2018. "Managing flexible work arrangements: Teleworking and output controls," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 727-735.
    6. Rupietta, Kira, 2015. "How does Part-time Work Affect Firm Performance and Innovation Activity?," Working papers 2015/05, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    7. Pasamar, Susana & Alegre, Joaquín, 2015. "Adoption and use of work-life initiatives: Looking at the influence of institutional pressures and gender," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 214-224.
    8. Heejung Chung & Hyojin Seo, 2024. "Flexibility Stigma Across Europe: How National Contexts can Shift the Extent to which Flexible Workers are Stigmatised," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 945-965, September.
    9. Shen-Tsu Wang, 2016. "Analysis of Life Context of On-Line Group-Buying Population by Dynamic Decision," Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 3(3), pages 173-181.
    10. Tanja van der Lippe & Laura den Dulk & Katia Begall, 2024. "Flextime/Flexspace for All in the Organization? A Study of the Availability, Use, and Consequences of Flexible Work Arrangements for Low and High SES Employees in Nine European Countries," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, April.
    11. Suzan Lewis & Deirdre Anderson & Clare Lyonette & Nicola Payne & Stephen Wood, 2017. "Public sector austerity cuts in Britain and the changing discourse of work–life balance," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(4), pages 586-604, August.
    12. Beham, Barbara & Baierl, Andreas & Eckner, Janin, 2020. "When does part-time employment allow managers with family responsibilities to stay on the career track? A vignette study among German managers," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 580-590.
    13. Mahmoud Abubaker & Mousa Luobbad & Ismael Qasem & Chris Adam-Bagley, 2022. "Work–Life-Balance Policies for Women and Men in an Islamic Culture: A Culture-Centred and Religious Research Perspective," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-20, August.
    14. Berkery, Elaine & Morley, Michael J. & Tiernan, Siobhán & Peretz, Hilla, 2020. "From start to finish: Flexi-time as a social exchange and its impact on organizational outcomes," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 591-601.
    15. Éva Fodor & Christy Glass, 2018. "Negotiating for entitlement: Accessing parental leave in Hungarian firms," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 687-702, November.
    16. Gábor Hajdu & Endre Sik, 2018. "Age, Period, and Cohort Differences in Work Centrality and Work Values," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-33, February.

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