IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eurman/v31y2013i5p495-504.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Collective bargaining and public policy: Pathways to work-family policy adoption in Australia and the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Berg, Peter
  • Kossek, Ellen Ernst
  • Baird, Marian
  • Block, Richard N.

Abstract

Improving employer support of work and family demands of the workforce is a growing concern across countries, but the pathways to achieve improvements in employer adoption of work-family policies, particularly linkages between collective bargaining and public policy, are not well understood within and across national contexts. In this article, we explore the linkage of collective bargaining and public policy through a comparative case study of collectively bargained work-life flexibility policies (flexible scheduling, leave arrangements such as unpaid family- or health-related leave and paid annual/vacation leave) in two universities in the United States and two universities in Australia. These are critical policies that support the ability of national workforces to integrate work and family time over the life course. Cross-national comparisons are useful given considerable variation in government involvement in promoting these policies, variation in the interplay between employers and governments, and variation in the extent to which specific work-life provisions appear in employment labor contracts. Based on interviews conducted with managers, supervisors, and labor union representatives from 2006–2008, we find that the degree of centralized collective bargaining plays an important role in explaining differences in work-life flexibility bargaining outcomes across organizations and countries. In addition, bargaining outcomes are influenced by the floor established by public policy for particular practices, particularly parental and annual leave. This cross-country comparison study articulates the conditions under which collective bargaining and public policy can work together to further equitable employee access to work-life flexibility practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Berg, Peter & Kossek, Ellen Ernst & Baird, Marian & Block, Richard N., 2013. "Collective bargaining and public policy: Pathways to work-family policy adoption in Australia and the United States," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 495-504.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:31:y:2013:i:5:p:495-504
    DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2013.04.008
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263237313000686
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.emj.2013.04.008?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John W. Budd & Karen Mumford, 2004. "Trade Unions and Family-Friendly Policies in Britain," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 57(2), pages 204-222, January.
    2. Baird, M & Whitehouse, G, 2012. "Paid parental leave: first birthday policy review," Australian Bulletin of Labour, National Institute of Labour Studies, vol. 38(3), pages 184-198.
    3. Richard N. Block & Joo-Young Park & Young-Hee Kang, 2013. "Statutory leave entitlements across developed countries: Why US workers lose out on work–family balance," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 152(1), pages 125-143, March.
    4. Kossek, Ellen Ernst & Baltes, Boris B. & Matthews, Russell A., 2011. "How Work–Family Research Can Finally Have an Impact in Organizations," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(3), pages 352-369, September.
    5. Abigail Gregory & Susan Milner, 2009. "Trade Unions and Work‐life Balance: Changing Times in France and the UK?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 47(1), pages 122-146, March.
    6. Mike Rigby & Fiona O'Brien-Smith, 2010. "Trade union interventions in work-life balance," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 24(2), pages 203-220, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Egidio Riva & Roberto Rizza, 2021. "Who receives occupational welfare? The importance of skills across Europe’s diverse industrial relations regimes," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 27(1), pages 97-112, February.
    3. Chantziaras, Antonios & Dedoulis, Emmanouil & Leventis, Stergios, 2020. "The impact of labor unionization on monitoring costs," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 288-307.
    4. Zheng-Dong Li & Bei Zhang, 2023. "Family-friendly policy evolution: a bibliometric study," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Delphine Brochard & Marie-Thérèse Letablier, 2017. "Trade union involvement in work–family life balance: lessons from France," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(4), pages 657-674, August.
    6. Marian Baird & John Murray, 2014. "Collective bargaining for paid parental leave in Australia 2005–2010: A complex context effect," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 25(1), pages 47-62, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mike Rigby & Fiona O'Brien-Smith, 2010. "Trade union interventions in work-life balance," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 24(2), pages 203-220, June.
    2. Artz, Benjamin & Heywood, John S., 2020. "Unions, Worker Participation and Worker Well-Being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 705, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Nicolas Bacon & Kim Hoque, 2012. "The Role and Impact of Trade Union Equality Representatives in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(2), pages 239-262, June.
    4. Kato, Takao & Kodama, Naomi, 2015. "Work-Life Balance Practices, Performance-Related Pay, and Gender Equality in the Workplace: Evidence from Japan," IZA Discussion Papers 9379, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Alex Bryson & P Willman, 2007. "Union Organization in Great Britain," CEP Discussion Papers dp0774, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    6. Micaela Bassford & Hayley Fisher, 2020. "The Impact of Paid Parental Leave on Fertility Intentions," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 96(315), pages 402-430, December.
    7. Tânia FERRARO & Leonor PAIS & Nuno REBELO DOS SANTOS & João Manuel MOREIRA, 2018. "The Decent Work Questionnaire: Development and validation in two samples of knowledge workers," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 157(2), pages 243-265, June.
    8. Ethel N Abe & Isaac I Abe & Ziska Fields & Ganiyu O Idris, 2018. "Work-Family Stressors and Work-Family Satisfaction: Effect of Sense of Coherence at a Metropolitan Municipality," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 10(2), pages 74-88.
    9. Seo‐Young Byun & Sook‐Yeon Won, 2020. "Are they ideological renegades? Fathers' experiences on taking parental leave and gender dynamics in Korea: A qualitative study," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 592-614, July.
    10. Anne‐Sophie Bruno & Nathalie Greenan & Jeremy Tanguy, 2021. "Does the Gender Mix Influence Collective Bargaining on Gender Equality? Evidence from France," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 479-520, October.
    11. KATO Takao & KODAMA Naomi, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Diversity in the Workplace: Evidence from Japan," Discussion papers 16063, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    12. Parera-Nicolau, Antonia & Mumford, Karen A., 2005. "Labour Supply and Childcare for British Mothers in Two-Parent Families: A Structural Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 1908, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Uwe Jirjahn & Jens Mohrenweiser, 2021. "Works councils and organizational gender policies in Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(4), pages 1020-1048, December.
    14. 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.
    15. Maria-Lavinia FLOREA & Anca BORZA, 2017. "Practical Aspects Of Work-Life Balance: Segmentation-Integration Organizational Policies In Services Companies In Romania," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 11(1), pages 928-942, November.
    16. Filipe Almeida‐Santos & Karen A. Mumford, 2004. "Employee Training in Australia: Evidence from AWIRS," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 80(s1), pages 53-64, September.
    17. Veliziotis, Michail, 2010. "Unionization and sickness absence from work in the UK," ISER Working Paper Series 2010-15, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    18. Linda Dickens, 2007. "The Road is Long: Thirty Years of Equality Legislation in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(3), pages 463-494, September.
    19. John W. Budd, 2010. "Does Employee Ignorance Undermine Shared Capitalism?," NBER Chapters, in: Shared Capitalism at Work: Employee Ownership, Profit and Gain Sharing, and Broad-based Stock Options, pages 291-316, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Fang, Tony & Lee, Byron & Timming, Andrew R. & Fan, Di, 2019. "The Effects of Work-Life Benefits on Employment Outcomes in Canada: A Multivariate Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 12322, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:31:y:2013:i:5:p:495-504. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/115/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.