Work-Life Balance Strategies in Family Policy
25th September 2024
Vilnius, Lithuania
Acknowledging the importance of work-life balance is crucial for maintaining personal well-being and mental health which encompasses various aspects, such as emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Therefore, a healthy work-life balance positively affects our personal relationships and helps coping with stress. This balance extends to family responsibilities, including care for both children and elderly family members.
Family care includes taking care of both children and older family members. According to 2019 Eurostat data, almost 90 million people in the EU have care responsibilities for children, and more than 12 million people in the EU take care of ill, elderly and/or disabled relatives. Work-life balance rights are being consolidated in public policy across Europe (in great part following the transposition of the EU work-life balance directive), and also increasingly in company policies which are building family-supportive workplaces.
The European Pillar of Social Rights puts a strong focus on work-life balance of parents and carers, with different initiatives to support families: legal frameworks like the EU work-life balance directive and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive; and policy frameworks like the European Care Strategy and the European Child Guarantee.
This European expert meeting
1. Explored the intersectional dimensions of work-life balance, considering how factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity intersect with family dynamics and mental health outcomes.
2. Promoted the integration of family-friendly working conditions, mental health services and family-friendly policies into organisational structures that best meet families’ needs.
3. Facilitated dialogue and collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including employers, employees, policymakers, researchers, and community organisations, to develop comprehensive strategies for supporting family mental health in the workplace.
Working languages: English and Lithuanian
Full programme: English and Lithuanian.
Key findings: You can see the full meeting report here.
Resources
Presentations Session 1: Study session 1: The evolution of family policies in Europe
- Willem Adema, Senior Economist, Social Policy Division, OECD
- Silvija Stanić, Director, Parents Association Step by Step, Croatia
- Teresa Roščinska, adviser of Horizontal Policy and Project Management Group, Ministry of Social Security and Labour, Lithuania
Presentations Session 2: 1000 days of parenthood and the mental load
- Vytautas Peciukonis, Research Officer at European Institute for Gender Equality
- Martino Serapioni, Research Programme Coordinator, European Observatory on Family Policy
- Vilma Ražauskienė , Researcher at Institute Of Sociology At The Lithuanian Centre For Social Sciences
Presentations Session 3: Caring for the caregiver
- Sylvia Van Walleghem, Researcher at KU Leuven in Magentaproject, Belgium
- Sarah Loriato, Policy Officer on Employment and European Parliament Liaison, AGE Platform Europe
- Sandra Norvilienė, Human Resources Manager, Employment Partner Retiva, Lithuania.
Presentations 4: Building family-supportive workplaces
