A recent study by Costanza Giannantoni and Andrès Rodriguez-Pose published in the Journal of Economic Geography explores the links between regional governance and work-life balance. The abstract of the study highlights that declining fertility and the persistent underrepresentation of women in the labour market are key concerns of our time.
COFACE and NAMS Lithunia organised a European expert meeting in Vilnius in September 2024 to explore the intersection of two domains (mental health and work-life balance), bringing together stakeholders from academia, industry, government, and civil society.
In Sweden, new parental leave has been extended to grandparents and friends. New rules now allow parents to transfer up to 45 days of their paid leave to someone who isn’t the child’s legal guardian – such as a relative or a friend – as long as the person is insured for parental allowance.
COFACE’s Finnish member, Väestöliitto (Family Federation of Finland) launched a new Work-life Balance project in September in which they carry out research and development work. At the heart of the project: flexibility, attitudes, leadership and resources. The project will run from 2024 to 2026.
COFACE’s Belgian member, Ligue des Familles, is on a mission to secure better pay for parental leave, recognizing it as a critical support for parents. However, the current financial compensation is far from adequate, discouraging many parents from taking this important leave.
This working group meeting aims to explore the impact of globalisation on family structures, identify the challenges faced by transnational families, discuss relevant EU developments, and promote collaboration among stakeholders to enhance support systems for these families.
The #MakeItWork campaign, spearheaded by the Commission, is dedicated to championing the importance of achieving a harmonious work-life balance. Through this initiative, the Commission strives to raise awareness about the significance of balancing professional commitments with personal and family responsibilities.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it a series of challenges. One of these includes the effect it has taken on women and their work-life balance. The Balance Project, of which COFACE member KMOP is part of, aims to support and equip women and their workplace leaders to better manage work-life balance.
Principle 18 of the European Pillar of Social Rights stresses: the right to affordable long-term care services of good quality, in particular homecare and community-based services. Since its adoption in 2017, the European Union has been looking more intensively at the topic of Long-Term Care (LTC), most notably with the adoption in 2022 of the European Care Strategy and the Council Recommendation on Long-Term Care. In this important time, COFACE Disability Platform launch this thematic note to spark the debate on the diversity of family carers. While the lion’s share of family carers are currently of working age and need urgent actions to support them.
Ligue des familles, a Belgian member of COFACE Families Europe, advocates for an increase in the minimum number of annual leave days per year.
Parents need their annual leave to meet the essential need for balance between family life and work. According to their latest Barometer 2022 (Ipsos data), 70% of parents find it difficult to work full-time while having children.
Alfred Trendl, President of the Catholic Family Association Austria (KFÖ), expressed both approval and concern regarding the government’s implementation of the EU directive aimed at strengthening work-life balance and partnership. While applauding the doubling of the family time bonus to 1,480 euros per month, Trendl voiced criticism of the government’s decision to cut two months of leave for families where only one parent takes parental leave. He argued that this infringes upon parental choice in childcare arrangements.
During the fourth edition of the European Mental Health Week conference, COFACE Families Europe’s director, Elizabeth Gosme, emphasized the significance of fostering mentally healthy communities. With a focus on promoting well-being and resilience, she shared valuable insights on creating environments that support mental health and shed light on the key factors that contribute to a thriving community, from a family perspective.
To safeguard the right to work-life balance across Member States, in April 2023, the European Commission decided to continue infringement procedures against Belgium Czechia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria, and Slovenia by sending them a reasoned opinion for failing to notify national measures fully transposing EU rules establishing rights on work-life balance for parents and carers.
Becoming a parent can be very joyful, but it can also be stressful. A study by Amy Heshmati, Helena Honkaniemi and Sol P. Juárez (Stockholm University) shows that mental health disorders during the post-natal period are common morbidity, but parental leave might help alleviate symptoms by preventing or reducing stress.
The strict public health restrictions implemented by governments in 2020 to control the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed working life and continued to shape it over the two years that followed. This report by the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) provides a detailed picture of the working lives and conditions of Europeans in that exceptional time.
The EU Work-life Balance Directive is the first legislative initiative that follows the launch of the European Pillar of Social Rights in 2017 and was formally adopted two years later in 2019. COFACE Families Europe expects high ambitions from the different EU institutions and national governments in the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, as a stepping stone to develop a framework for a more social and fairer European Union.
This new report presents the findings of COFACE Families Europe’s transposition assessment carried out together with national experts from 10 Member States representing a geographical and welfare mix: Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland and Spain.
All EU countries had until the 2nd of August 2022 to bring into force the laws, regulations, and administrative provisions necessary to comply fully with the Work-life balance Directive. The Directive contains legal elements that acknowledge the diversity of families in the 21st century, for instance with the mention of “equivalent second parent” under the paternity leave article.
We usually take time for granted, but the way we use our time is shaped by our individual and social circumstances and can lead to inequalities, inefficiencies, and diminished well-being of our society. Public and private initiatives that are put forward in order to address such issues are known as time policies.
Media statement. Brussels, 8th September 2022. COFACE Families Europe welcomes yesterday’s adoption by the European Commission of the European Care Strategy. With this decision, set in the framework of the Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social...
In June 2022, COFACE and Pro Parents Netherlands organised an Expert meeting on gender equality, sustainability and workplace well-being.
Throughout different periods of our lives, each of us experiences different needs, desires, commitments, and opportunities. No magic formula can be applied to our work and personal lives that would suit everyone. However, there is a tool you can use to calculate the formula precisely for your work and personal life, and it was developed by the Lithuanian Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, in cooperation with partners: they created a work-life balance formula.
The Associació Salut i Família has been promoting for more than twenty years the creation of free service exchange networks between people who live and / or work in the same neighborhood, town or city. These networks for the exchange of services, skills, knowledge and relationships between people take the hour of time as a unit of value and exchange.
Brussels, 7th March 2021 First impressions by Elizabeth Gosme, Director of COFACE Families Europe Twenty principles, three headline 2030 targets, a revised EU Social Scoreboard, a clear timeline of initiatives, and a shared political commitment and responsibility from...
Families around Europe live the same difficulties. They should unite in a same demand: parental leave for working parents during the confinement.
We at COFACE are part of this imposed experiment with the Brussels-based team, through decentralised working, agreeing on key tasks to be achieved over the next month, and using technology to connect bilaterally or with the full team.
We live in a society which pays enormous attention to economic growth and the wellbeing of our economy.
New social rights, consolidation of existing social rights, and some missed opportunities COFACE assessment of the EU work-life balance directive The agreement on the EU Work-Life Balance Directive on 24th January 2019, its adoption by the European Parliament...
Girls outperform boys in school but they are under-represented where big decisions are taken. Women earn 16% less than men on average in the EU and when they get older, their pension is 39% lower than men’s. We all keep repeating this every year but the situation does...
