Among high income countries, the United States seem to
offer less flexible negotiations between employees and
employers.  This affects women in particular. 
According to the study below, women are more likely 
to work part time with no benefits at all, or to
simply stay out of the job market.   Because of the
rigorous working conditions that prevail in  America,
life long learning is less likely to happen.





http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/B258workplaceflex.pdf 

New Report to be Released Wednesday, May 28  
 
Washington, DC - A new report by the Institute for
Women¡¦s Policy Research (IWPR) and the Center for
WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings
College of the Law, charts what governments in high
income countries are doing to speed up the pace of
workplace change.

The report, Statutory Routes to Workplace Flexibility
in Cross-National Perspective, is based on a review of
statutory employment rights in 21 high-income
countries, including the United States, aimed at
increasing workers¡¦ ability to change their working
hours and arrangements to balance work and family, and
facilitate lifelong learning and gradual retirement.
It argues that, in the context of U.S. demographic and
economic changes, an explicit right to request
flexible work could play an important role in
preparing the U.S. economy for the future. 

 IWPR and the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston
College

Report Release Wednesday, May 28, 5:00pm -6:00pm

Room 2000, Hotung International Law Building
600 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC
 

Although there has been progress in workplace
practices, high-quality flexible work arrangements are
still the exception in the U.S. When lack of
flexibility and lack of affordable child care and
elder care combine, many women stop paid work
altogether, or trade down to a job with more feasible
work hours, at the cost of having to work below their
professional potential. 

In the U.S., the choice tends to be either to work
full-time all the time, or work reduced hours, with
low pay, no benefits, and little opportunity for
advancement. Faced with that choice, and the high cost
of child care and elder care, many women are forced to
leave the labor market,¡¨ says Barbara Gault, IWPR
Vice President and Director of Research. 

Of 21 countries reviewed, the report found that 17
countries have statutes that allow parents to move to
part-time work or otherwise adjust their working
hours; 12 have statutes to help workers adjust work
hours for training and education; 11 allow reduced
hours with partial pension prior to full retirement; 5
allow working time adjustments for those with family
care-giving responsibilities for adults; and 5
countries give everyone the right to alternative work
arrangements.

According to the latest data from the Organization for
Economic Development and Cooperation, college-educated
women in the United States are now less likely than
women in many other high-income countries to
participate in the labor market. Participation in the
U.S. labor force for women aged 24-54 has stalled in
the last decade while 19 of 20 other high income
countries surveyed have seen growth during the same
period. 
Most countries target statutory regulation at specific
circumstances, such as family caregiving
responsibilities, old age or lifelong learning.  More
recent is an all encompassing approach that provides a
mechanism for changing working time arrangements to
all employees, irrespective of why they want change.
As long as employers have some scope for refusing
proposals on business or organizational grounds, such
a universal approach is least likely to cause
resentment between employees and creates the greatest
diversity of time availability for employers to draw
on in getting work done. And it reduces the
association of flexible working with a mommy track.

Most flexible work statutes try to find solutions that
are workable for both employer and employee. While
employers might have protested before the laws were
introduced, once implemented most found them
workable,¡¨ Says Ariane Hegewisch,
Scholar-in-Residence at IWPR, and co-author of the
report.

Many of these rights to flexible or reduced hours were
introduced in the last decade in response to looming
demographic changes which put a premium on encouraging
people to stay in work. 

There is a big incentive for policymakers to support
flexible work.  When more people work, more people
contribute to taxes and social insurance and thus
provide for those who can no longer work,¡¨ says Janet
Gornick, Professor of Political Science and Sociology,
CUNY, and co-author of the report. 
How other countries are encouraging workplace
flexibility:  

           Changed working hours and/or scheduling for
any employee. (In Belgium, all employees over the
course of their working life can take a career break
of up to one year full-time, and may stretch this out
to a maximum of 5 years, working 80 percent of usual
hours, to look after children or family; return to
education; volunteer in the community or whatever else
they would like to do.)

           Gradual return to work after childbirth.
(In Norway, parents, for the first two years after the
birth or adoption of a child, can return to work for
50, 60, 75, 80 or 90 percent of their usual working
hours.)

           Breast feeding breaks. (In Portugal,
mothers or fathers, for the first year after the birth
of a child, are entitled to breastfeeding breaks twice
a day ¡V or can reduce the overall length of the
working day.)

           Alternative work arrangements for parents
of younger children or children with disabilities. (In
Spain, parents caring for children under eight years
old are entitled to reduce their working hours between
20 and 50 percent.)

           The right to refuse overtime or shift
patterns that clash with care responsibilities. (In
Switzerland, for employees caring for children or
relatives in need of care.)

          The right to request flextime, part-time
work, rescheduling or home based work for employees
caring for children or relatives in need of care. (UK
and New Zealand.)

           Alternative schedules or reduced hours to
go back to education. (In Denmark, for employees who
left school without a high school diploma, for up to
three ¡Vand-a ¡Vhalf years.)

           Reduced working hours on the way to
retirement. (In Finland, from age 58 onwards, a
reduction of usual full-time hours between 30 to 70
percent is possible with partial pension payments.)

The report concludes that enhanced rights to flexible
work can improve work/life quality, support economic
growth and prosperity, and contribute to greater
gender equality.

The 21 countries surveyed were Australia, Austria,
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
United Kingdom, and the United States. 

To obtain a copy of this report or to schedule an
interview, please contact Elisabeth Crum at
202-785-5100, ext. 24, or crum at iwpr.org.  The report
will be available online Wednesday at www.iwpr.org   

The Institute for Women¦s Policy Research conducts
rigorous research and disseminates its findings to
address the needs of women, promote public dialogue,
and strengthen families, communities, and societies.
IWPR focuses on issues of poverty and welfare,
employment and earnings, work and family, health and
safety, and women¦s civic and political participation.


The Center for WorkLife Law, based at the University
of California Hastings College of the Law, is a
nonprofit research and advocacy organization that
seeks to eliminate employment discrimination against
employees who have caregiving responsibilities for
family members, such as mothers and fathers of young
children and adults with aging parents. WorkLife Law
works with employees, employers, attorneys,
legislators, journalists, and researchers to identify
and prevent family responsibilities discrimination. 
The report is based on research conducted with the
financial support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. 
 


 
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