Alongside the growing popularity of Work-Life Balance (WLB) in academic debates, policy-making arenas, corporations and everyday language, some critical scholarship has called for an enquiry into the conceptual and practical ambiguities underpinning WLB discourse and policies. This article aims to contribute to this scholarship, by exploring the evolution, as well as the limitations, of WLB laws and policies, with specific reference to the EU legal framework. This article provides an account of the evolution of the EU legal framework and explores the innovation features introduced by Directive EU 2019/1158 on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers, which was adopted in June 2019. Drawing on the insights of critical literature, which have objected the focus on work-family contrasts experienced by professionals at the expense of workers in lower occupational groups, this article assesses the new Directive against the background of increasing family diversity and the rise of non-standard employment. While there has been some progress as regards the recognition of ‘non-standard’ families, many non-standard workers may still fall outside the scope of the Directive, or may not meet the eligibility criteria to access WLB measures, which has detrimental effects in terms of equality. The article concludes by presenting the rationale for adopting an intersectional-sensitive approach to WLB.

Work-Life Balance for all? Assessing the Inclusiveness of the Directive (EU) 2019/1158

Elisa Chieregato
2020-01-01

Abstract

Alongside the growing popularity of Work-Life Balance (WLB) in academic debates, policy-making arenas, corporations and everyday language, some critical scholarship has called for an enquiry into the conceptual and practical ambiguities underpinning WLB discourse and policies. This article aims to contribute to this scholarship, by exploring the evolution, as well as the limitations, of WLB laws and policies, with specific reference to the EU legal framework. This article provides an account of the evolution of the EU legal framework and explores the innovation features introduced by Directive EU 2019/1158 on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers, which was adopted in June 2019. Drawing on the insights of critical literature, which have objected the focus on work-family contrasts experienced by professionals at the expense of workers in lower occupational groups, this article assesses the new Directive against the background of increasing family diversity and the rise of non-standard employment. While there has been some progress as regards the recognition of ‘non-standard’ families, many non-standard workers may still fall outside the scope of the Directive, or may not meet the eligibility criteria to access WLB measures, which has detrimental effects in terms of equality. The article concludes by presenting the rationale for adopting an intersectional-sensitive approach to WLB.
2020
Leave Eligibility
Work-Life Balance
Paternity Leave
Parental Leave
Flexible Working Arrangements
Leave Eligibility
Intersectional Analysis
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11562/1014804
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