CNV

On 07 and 08 April 2011 KRIFA (Denmark) together with the European Organization of the World Organization of Workers (EO/WOW) organized a European seminar in cooperation with the European Centre for Workers’ Questions (EZA) and with the support of the European Commission. Them of the seminar was: “Work-life-balance: Equal opportunities for women and men on the labour-market, compatibility of work and family life” More than 50 trade union leaders from thirteen EU countries participated during the seminar which took place in Berlin, Germany. 

Within the European Union the improvement of Work-Life-Balance is a constant point of discussion. And it will continue being an important issue due to demographic developments and more well-educated women on the labour-market. This is changing (and will continue to do so in the future) long-existing cultural patterns of the man earning money for the household, and women making sure that the household runs as smooth as possible. 

What we generally still see today though is that the labour-market is divided into traditional male and female jobs. Technical jobs are still the field of men, while care belongs to that of women.

What we also see, however, is a trend to change this traditional difference. In many countries discussions have started directed at a women’s quota. This would, for instance, assure the presence of more women in boards of companies or in the position of CEO. This is still not the case in many companies.

Finding a good balance (both for men as women) is pivotal when it comes to combining work and family life. For many people the current organization of the labour-market is leading to a lot of stress. According to Mrs. Gitte Krogh Nørgaard 50 – 60% of the loss of working-hours is the result of stress. And particularly women face a lot of stress due to the combination between paid work and work in their household.  

Mrs. Dorthe Lilleris, HR-manager at KRIFA, Denmark stated that Work-Life-Balance is a broad concept which includes proper prioritizing between work and life. One most often does not get stress from work and one most often does not get stress from family. The imbalance occurs when these two domains clash. Both employee as employer are responsible to find appropriate solutions which suit both parties best.

Point 6 of the Corporate Mission of BIOTRONIK states that: ‘Our staff is our most valuable asset’. BIOTRONIK tries to be in a constant dialogue with their employees to secure that they are satisfied and work in a pleasant atmosphere. BIOTRONIK considers the opinion of its employees as very important. The talks with representatives of the Works Council resulted in interesting discussions. BIOTRONIK is indeed well-developed when it comes to combining work- and family-life.

Mr. Peter Weiß, President of the group representing employees' interests within the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and Member of the Committee on Labour and Social Affairs in the German Parliament. Mr. Weiß stressed the importance of politics, and employers and workers’ organizations to work together in order to improve working-conditions in general and Work-Life-Balance in particular. This should be done on national level, European level and even on global level.

In the past two decades the psychological pressures have increased dramatically. This is leading to tremendous costs on national level. For the people involved these pressures may have ineradicable and long-lasting effects.  For the employer it may result in absence of employees and hence decrease of productivity. More pressure of those who are present, loss of know-how (when someone is faced with a burnout as a result) etc.

More and more employers recognize the problems related with Work-Life-Balance and they are trying to act on it as well. And they have to, because increasingly less people are willing to have a career at the dispense of  their private- and family-life.

The promotion of family-friendly work is a prime point of interest of the sustainable family-politics of the Christian-Liberal government-coalition. This coalition has put itself to the goal to increase the share of women in managerial positions. Long-term goal is that the share of men and women.

This was confirmed by Deputy president of the DHV Mr. Henning Röders. Work-Life-Balance does not stop at the borders. The European Union is faced with demographic changes which is expected to have great effects on the economic situation of the union. The prospect is that we will be in an even greater need of a well-educated people to be able to remain on the same economical level as we are now. The EU has a very low birth-rate. This is not expected to change soon. What we are able to change on short notice, however, is a better incorporation of women on the labour-market. This means that we will have to be more open to women in top-positions. Still a male bastion. Additionally, equal payment should be promoted and guaranteed in the future.

What we also see is that women generally work more part-time in comparison to men. And although men still have more full-time jobs the estimation is that this will change in the future into more part-time and more flexible jobs. Although part-time work often helps to create a better work-life-balance it does not solve all the problems with balancing. A large share of both men and women feel stressed multiple time per week/month. To this regard there is an important role for social partners (employers/employees) to create a shift in the culture and to facilitate flexible working (time) arrangements. 

Good Work-Life-Balance remains difficult to achieve. The interests of employers and employees do not always coincide. At some point this will lead to a clash. Both between employer and employee, but also between work and life. There is, however, no one-size fits all balance. For that reason there should be room for tailor-made arrangements in labour-conditions.

We are all in this world for a purpose. Having a good and satisfying job is important, but there is more. People are responsible themselves to find their own purpose, but good guidelines and laws should provide good basic rules. It is our duty as trade unions to assist in developing these basic rules to support workers who find difficulty in doing this themselves. There is, however, still a lot to be gained.

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