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Bozio, Antoine, Alice Lapeyre, Enzo Weber, Benedikt Runschke, Monika Schnitzer, Lenard Simon & Martin Werding (2025): Fostering Employment and Total Hours Worked: Perspectives for France and Germany. Joint statement. 12 S.

Abstract

"France and Germany are both confronted with labour market bottlenecks that limit the total volume of work in the economy. While they face similar challenges - such as boosting labour force participation and improving job quality - their labour markets differ in key structural dimensions, leading to divergent policy priorities. To achieve higher employment of better quality, each country will need to implement a tailored mix of policies, targeting its specific weaknesses. In some cases, the policy levers required are similar; in others, they differ significantly due to institutional and demographic differences. This policy brief rests on a systematic comparison of labour market participation between France and Germany to identify the most relevant margins for reform and the levers that could support convergence towards stronger employment outcomes in both countries. This policy brief presents the key stylized facts and policy recommendations that can be drawn for France and Germany. Our analyses build on extensive work by Bozio et al. (2025),* who updated previous work by Blundell et al. (2011, 2013). Using harmonized survey data, the authors examine employment and hours worked over the past 55 years in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They provide detailed analyses of employment patterns and working hours across sub-groups of workers - by gender, age, and education level - over time. Their work identifies room to increase hours worked in both countries, along with relevant policies to achieve this, and contributes to the reflection on the gradual harmonisation of labour markets in both countries" (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cohen, Naomi, Nicolas Ghio & Mattis Gilbert (2025): Wishing to Work More? Preferences, Constraints, and Hours Worked. (Sciences Po Economics Discussion Paper 2025-14), Paris, 33 S.

Abstract

"Using data from the French Labor Force Survey, we show that 21.2% of workers experience an hours gap, meaning they work fewer hours than they would prefer at their current wage. This stands in sharp contrast to recent evidence from Germany, where most workers report being overworked. In France, hours gaps are concentrated among low-income part-time workers and remain stable over time. We argue that cross-country differences in labor market institutions — including minimum wage policies, working-time regulations, and unemployment insurance — are central to shaping both realized hours and the distribution of hours gaps. While hours gaps appear inefficient in standard labor supply models, they may reflect constrained-efficient outcomes in the presence of frictions. Understanding the mechanisms that generate hours gaps is crucial for evaluating the welfare effects of hoursbased policy interventions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Erhel, Christine, Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière & Malo Mofakhami (2024): Diversity of flexible working time arrangements and workers' health: An analysis of a workers’ panel and linked employer-employee data for France. In: Social Science & Medicine, Jg. 356. DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117129

Abstract

"Flexible working time arrangements (FWTA) have increased over the last decades, favored by labor market deregulation, the decentralization of collective bargaining and the development of new technologies. The negative impact of some non-standard working hours on health (like night work, shift work) is quite well-known but other forms of FWTA have been studied less so far. This article aims to investigate the relationship between FWTA and workers’ health. It focuses on employer-oriented FWTA and uses a job demands-control framework to identify different types of working time demands and control. The study uses individual data from the French working conditions survey, including panel data from 2013 to 2019 (64,981 observations) and cross-sectional employer-employee linked data from 2019 (5687 employees from 4672 workplaces). We identify empirically two main dimensions of employer-oriented FWTA, based on 14 working time variables. The first type involves “atypical working hours”, such as working weekends, nights, early mornings, evenings, or doing shift work. The second type - “work overflow” - is characterized by long working hours, overtime, taking work home, and having variable working hours. Using a fixed-effects model based on panel data, we show that both types of FWTA have a negative impact on workers' self-rated general health and mental health, as measured by the WHO-5 index. The study also finds that workers who have more control - both individual and collective – to face these demands demonstrate better health. Workers with control over their working hours report better health and are less negatively affected by FWTA. Moreover, workplace-level practices have ambiguous relationships with workers' health. However, those involving social dialogue and workers ’ participation have more favorable effects: the positive effect of health and safety committees is especially clear. To improve workers’ health in the context of increased flexible working time arrangements, public policies should promote the development of control over working time and participation of workers to social dialogue on working time related issues." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Torrejón Pérez, Sergio, Enrique Fernández-Macías, Ignacio González Vázquez & Ildefonso Marqués Perales (2024): The Working Times They Are A-Changing: Trends in Six EU countries (1992-2022). (JRC working papers series on labour, education and technology 2024,04), Sevilla, 33 S.

Abstract

"The time Europeans devote to paid work has been consistently reduced since the Industrial Revolution. However, since the 1980s, the pace of this trend has slowed. The aim of this article is twofold: first, we develop a theoretical framework to account for the main factors determining the evolution and distribution of working hours in Europe; second, we exploit the EU-LFS data (1992-2022) to analyze the main factors explaining recent developments in working time. The results indicate: 1) that reductions in working time are primarily attributable to an increased prevalence of non-standard forms of work, mainly part-time work; 2) that part-time work has expanded mainly due to the feminization of employment and tertiarisation; 3) that full-time workers continue to work more or less the same hours as in the 1980s, given that there are countervailing effects pushing up (occupational upgrading and tertiarization) and down (the expansion of public services, the shrinking of the goods-producing sector, and self-employment becoming less time-intensive) the time they devote to work; and 4) that the self-employed work less because part-time self-employment has become more prevalent, although the self-employed continue doing the longest workweeks. Theoretical and empirical implications arising from these findings are discussed, as well as potential avenues for future research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Batut, Cyprien, Andrea Garnero & Alessandro Tondini (2023): The Employment Effects of Working Time Reductions: Sector-Level Evidence from European Reforms. In: Industrial Relations, Jg. 62, H. 3, S. 217-232. DOI:10.1111/irel.12323

Abstract

"In this paper, we exploit a panel of industry-level data in European countries to study the economic impact of national reductions in usual weekly working hours between 1995 and 2007. Our identification strategy relies on the five national reforms that took place over this period and on initial differences across sectors in the share of workers exposed to the reforms. On average, the number of hours worked in more affected sectors fell, hourly wages rose, while employment did not increase. The effect on value added per hour worked appears to be positive but non-significant." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Lambert, Anne, Marine Quennehen & Mariona Segú (2023): Gender differences in the association between nonstandard work schedules and work-family conflict: A mixed methods analysis in France. In: Journal of Family Research, Jg. 35, S. 553-573. DOI:10.20377/jfr-934

Abstract

"Objective: This study aims to examine the association between nonstandard work schedules and time-based work–family conflict (WFC) among employed parents. Taking a gender perspective, it further considers whether job and family resources mediates this association. Background: The recent increase in nonstandard work schedules has proportionally affected women more than men in various EU countries. Previous research has established a link between nonstandard work schedules and WFC. However, limited attention has been given to directly investigating time-based WFC and exploring the factors that drive gender-specific effects. Method: Employing a mixed methods design, we use cross-sectional data from a large-scale French Working Conditions survey and qualitative interviews with couples who work nonstandard schedules. Results: Quantitative findings demonstrate that nonstandard work schedules increase time-based work–family conflict for women more than men. Early morning and evening work disrupts socially valuable time for women, while weekend work negatively affects both genders. Lack of family support explains a significant portion of the association, with work schedule unpredictability being crucial for women. The qualitative findings shed light on the gender-specific generation of perceptions regarding time-based WFC among couples and the interaction of job and family resources in their daily lives. Conclusion: The findings suggest that a comprehensive understanding of the gendered interferences between family and work dynamics is vital for informing policy decisions, reducing gender inequalities, and enhancing workers’ wellbeing." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Batut, Cyprien, Andrea Garnero & Alessandro Tondini (2022): The Employment Effects of Working Time Reductions: Sector-Level Evidence from European Reforms. (FBK-IRVAPP working paper / Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Research Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies 2022-04), Trient, 37 S.

Abstract

"Working time legislation is a key labour market regulation and the subject of heated and recurrent debates. A first-order concern is how this legislation may impact employment. In this paper, we exploit a panel of industry-level data in European countries to study the economic impact of national reductions in usual weekly working hours between 1995 and 2007. Our identification strategy relies on the five national reforms that took place over this period and on initial differences across sectors in the share of workers exposed to the reforms. We show that, on average, the number of hours worked in more affected sectors fell relative to less affected sectors but employment did not increase, while the impact on wages and value-added per hour worked appears to be positive but insignificant." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Garnero, Andrea, Alessandro Tondini & Cyprien Batut (2022): The employment effects of working time reductions in Europe. (VoxEU columns / Centre for Economic Policy Research), London, 8 S.

Abstract

"The implementation of shorter working hours is intended to create jobs by redistributing available work. But this is based on the assumption that there is a fixed amount of work to be done. This column studies the work-hour reforms in Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, and Slovenia in the late 1990s and early 2000s under the EU Working Time Directive. The reforms did reduce the hours worked per employee, but firms did not substitute lower hours for more workers. Since employee salaries did not go down, a shorter working week or day could potentially increase wellbeing." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Giménez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & José Alberto Molina (2020): The Gender Gap in Time Allocation in Europe. (IZA discussion paper 13461), 42 S.

Abstract

"This article explores the gender gap in time allocation in Europe, offering up-to-date statistics and information on several factors that may help to explain these differences. Prior research has identified several factors affecting the time individuals devote to paid work, unpaid work, and child care, and the gender gaps in these activities, but most research refers to single countries, and general patterns are rarely explored. Cross-country evidence on gender gaps in paid work, unpaid work, and child care is offered, and explanations based on education, earnings, and household structure are presented, using data from the EUROSTAT and the Multinational Time Use Surveys. There are large cross-country differences in the gender gaps in paid work, unpaid work, and child care, which remain after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, although the gender gap in paid work dissipates when the differential gendered relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and paid work is taken into account. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of gender gaps in Europe, helping to focus recent debates on how to tackle inequality in Europe, and clarifying the factors that contribute to gender inequalities in the uses of time." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Tuda, Dora (2020): Desired hours worked over the business cycle: stylised facts for European countries. (Trinity economics papers 1320), Dublin, 37 S.

Abstract

"This paper documents stylised facts on desired hours per employed worker in European countries and identifies the effect of recessions on desired hours. Actual hours worked are usually used to estimate preferences on the labour market. However, actual hours are constrained by labour demand and therefore measure hours worked in the general equilibrium. Descriptive statistics from EU Labour Force Survey show that desired hours are countercyclical and that the underemployment gap increases due to higher desired hours worked of employed individuals. I identify the effect of recessions on desired hours using variation in regional unemployment rates from 2000 to 2017. I find that a 1 percentage point higher unemployment rate increases desired hours, on average, by 2 - 8 hours on a yearly level (3 - 5 minutes in the reference week). The results offer a lower bound estimate for the whole sample period of booms and busts. To narrow the sample period, I use a panel of individuals from the French LFS (EEC) and find even bigger effects. In France, from 2007q4 to 2009q1, an increase in regional unemployment rate by 1 percentage point increases desired hours by 1.6 hours in the reference week. Bottom decile of the income distribution significantly increases desired hours in all countries, suggesting an income effect labour supply response in recessions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Chung, Heejung (2019): 'Women's work penalty' in access to flexible working arrangements across Europe. In: European journal of industrial relations, Jg. 25, H. 1, S. 23-40. DOI:10.1177/0959680117752829

Abstract

"Many assume that women and workers in female-dominated workplaces will have better access to flexible working arrangements. Some use this as justification for the low wages found in these workplaces. Yet, empirical results are mixed. I explore this question by examining workers' access to schedule control across 27 European countries, and find no discernible gender differences in access to schedule control when individual and company-level characteristics are taken into account. However, working in female-dominated jobs and/or sectors significantly reduces access to schedule control for both men and women. This 'women's work penalty' in female-dominated sectors varies across Europe but nowhere was the access better compared to sectors where both genders are equally represented. This raises concerns regarding the lack of favourable working conditions, in addition to low pay found in female-dominated workplaces." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lepinteur, Anthony (2019): The shorter workweek and worker wellbeing. Evidence from Portugal and France. In: Labour economics, Jg. 58, H. June, S. 204-220. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2018.05.010

Abstract

"Using data from the European Community Household Panel, this paper evaluates the impact of the exogenous reductions in weekly working hours induced by reforms implemented in Portugal and France on worker wellbeing. Difference-in-differences estimation results suggest that reduced working hours generated significant and robust increases in job and leisure satisfaction of the workers affected in both countries (from 0.07 to 0.15 standard deviation increases), with the rise in the former mainly being explained by greater satisfaction with working hours and working conditions. Further results suggest that staff representative bodies are important for ensuring that working-time reductions lead to welfare gains." (Author's abstract, © 2019 Elsevier) ((en))

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Pailhé, Ariane, Anne Solaz & Arthur Souletie (2019): How Do Women and Men Use Extra Time? Housework and Childcare after the French 35-Hour Workweek Regulation. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 35, H. 6, S. 807-824. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcz039

Abstract

"This paper analyses how and when men and women devote their extra time to childcare and housework by exploiting an exogenous shock in scheduling: the partial implementation of the 35-hour workweek reform in France. Using propensity score matching and the most recent time use survey (INSEE, 2010), we show that time reallocations differ by gender and day of the week. While men dedicate their extra time to performing more housework on weekdays in the form of mainly time-flexible tasks such as repairs or shopping, they do less on weekends. This shift from weekends to weekdays is not observed for women who perform day-to-day tasks that are less transferable. Women spend more time on childcare and reduce multitasking. Overall, task specialization by gender is more pronounced, and this gendered use of similar extra time illustrates that time allocation is not only a question of time availability. In particular, men and women ‘do gender’ at weekends, when performing tasks is more visible to others." (Author's Abstract, IAB-Doku)

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Sánchez, Rafael (2017): Does a mandatory reduction of standard working hours improve employees' health status? In: Industrial relations, Jg. 56, H. 1, S. 3-39. DOI:10.1111/irel.12163

Abstract

"Most of the empirical evidence regarding the impact of reductions of standard working hours analyzes its effects on employment outcomes, family life balance, and social networks, but there is no empirical evidence of its effects on health outcomes. This study uses panel data for France and Portugal and exploits the exogenous variation of working hours coming from labor regulation and estimates its impact on health outcomes (from 39 to 35 hours a week and from 44 to 40 hours a week, respectively). Results suggest that the mandatory reduction of standard working hours decreased the working hours of treated individuals (and not the hours of individuals in the control group). Results also suggest that the fact of being treated generated a negative (positive) effect on young males' (females') health in France. No effects on health outcomes were found for Portugal." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Aliaj, Arjeta, Xavier Flawinne, Alain Jousten, Sergio Perelman & Lin Shi (2016): Old-age employment and hours of work trends. Empirical analysis for four European countries. In: IZA journal of European Labor Studies, Jg. 5, S. 1-22. DOI:10.1186/s40174-016-0066-1

Abstract

"For the last two decades, the increase of employment among individuals aged 50+ has been a policy objective on the European employment agenda. The present paper focuses on the case of Belgium, France, Germany, and The Netherlands over the period 1997-2011. First, we provide descriptive analysis of older workers' employment using data from the European Union Labour Force Survey. Second, we use econometric techniques to explain the different employment and hours of work patterns for various sub-groups of older workers over time. We find evidence of catching up of older generation's employment rates - with no rupture at the financial crisis in 2007. Third, we use micro-simulation techniques to decompose the effects of structural changes, as well as extensive and intensive labor supply changes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bick, Alexander, Bettina Brüggemann & Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln (2016): Hours worked in Europe and the US. New data, new answers. (IZA discussion paper 10179), Bonn, 44 S.

Abstract

"We use national labor force surveys from 1983 through 2011 to construct hours worked per person on the aggregate level and for different demographic groups for 18 European countries and the US. We find that Europeans work 19% fewer hours than US citizens. Differences in weeks worked and in the educational composition each account for one third to one half of this gap. Lower hours per person than in the US are in addition driven by lower weekly hours worked in Scandinavia and Western Europe, but by lower employment rates in Eastern and Southern Europe." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Körner, Thomas & Loup Wolff (2016): Tatsächlich geleistete Arbeitszeit in Frankreich und Deutschland. Zur Vergleichbarkeit der Ergebnisse der Arbeitskräfteerhebung. In: Wirtschaft und Statistik H. 6, S. 52-62.

Abstract

"Die Erfassung der Arbeitszeit ist eine der wichtigsten Aufgaben der Arbeitskräfteerhebung in den Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union. Dieser Beitrag fasst die Ergebnisse eines französisch-deutschen Analyseprojekts zum Vergleich der tatsächlich geleisteten Arbeitszeit zusammen und konzentriert sich dabei auf die Zahl der tatsächlich geleisteten Arbeitsstunden. Dieser Indikator wird insbesondere im Rahmen der Konjunkturbeobachtung und in den Volkswirtschaftlichen Gesamtrechnungen verwendet. Die Analysen deuten darauf hin, dass die Unterschiede hinsichtlich der tatsächlich geleisteten Arbeitszeit zwischen Frankreich und Deutschland überschätzt werden. Der Beitrag stellt die Ergebnisse gegenüber, skizziert Erklärungsansätze für die eingeschränkte Vergleichbarkeit und gibt einen Ausblick auf methodische Weiterentwicklungen." (Autorenreferat, © Statistisches Bundesamt, Wiesbaden)

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Körner, Thomas & Loup Wolff (2016): "Do the Germans really work six weeks more than the French?". Measuring working time with the labour force survey in France and Germany. In: Journal of official statistics, Jg. 32, H. 2, S. 405-431. DOI:10.1515/jos-2016-0022

Abstract

"Measuring working time is not only an important objective of the EU Labour Force Survey (LFS), but also a highly demanding task in terms of methodology. Against the background of a recent debate on the comparability of working time estimates in France and Germany, this article presents a comparative assessment of the measurement of working time in the Labour Force Survey obtained in both countries. It focuses on the measurement of the hours actually worked, the key working-time concept for short-term economic analysis and the National Accounts. The contribution systematically analyses the differences in the measurement approaches used in France and Germany in order to identify the methodological effects that hinder comparability. It comes to the conclusion that the LFS overstates the difference in hours actually worked in France and Germany and identifies question comprehension, rounding, editing effects, as well as certain aspects of the sampling design, as crucial factors of a reliable measurement in particular of absences from work during the reference week. We recommend continuing the work started in the European Statistical System towards the development of a model questionnaire in order to improve cross-national harmonisation of key variables such as hours actually worked." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Leroux, Marie-Louise & Gregory Ponthiere (2016): Working time regulation, unequal lifetimes and fairness. (CESifo working paper 6271), München, 30 S.

Abstract

"We examine the redistributive impact of working time regulations in an economy with unequal lifetimes. It is shown that uniform working time reductions, when uncompensated (i.e. constant hourly wage), can reduce inequalities in realized lifetime well-being between short-lived and long-lived persons with respect to the laissez-faire, but at the cost of making the short-lived worse off. When compensated (i.e. constant labour earnings), uniform working time reductions make the short-lived better off, but at the cost of raising inequalities. Then, we characterize the ex post egalitarian optimum, where the realized lifetime well-being of the worst off is maximized, and show that this social optimum involves an increasing age profile in terms of worked hours. We examine the decentralization of that social optimum, and we provide a second-best egalitarian argument for age-dependent working time regulation, which can make the short-lived better off and reduce inequalities in realized lifetime well-being." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Pollmann-Schult, Matthias (2016): What mothers want: The impact of structural and cultural factors on mothers' preferred working hours in Western Europe. In: Advances in life course research, Jg. 29, H. September, S. 16-25. DOI:10.1016/j.alcr.2015.11.002

Abstract

"This study investigates how social policies, gender norms, and the national working time regime shape mothers' preferred working hours. Using data from the European Social Survey (ESS) for 15 countries across Western Europe, the study reveals that generous public child care and cultural support for gender equality are associated with smaller gaps in the preferred working hours between mothers and childless women. High levels of financial support for families, in contrast, predict larger gaps in preferred working hours. The analysis also indicates that a low prevalence of non-standard work and high levels of work-time flexibility reduce the differences in preferred employment hours between mothers and non-mothers. Individual characteristics such as education, gender ideology, and the partners' socioeconomic status greatly impact women's preferred employment hours; however, they do not modify the effect of motherhood. This study concludes that the impact of parenthood on women's employment hours is highly contingent upon various institutional and cultural factors." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Aassve, Arnstein, Giulia Fuochi, Letizia Mencarini & Daria Mendola (2015): What is your couple type? Gender ideology, housework sharing, and babies. In: Demographic Research, Jg. 32, S. 835-858. DOI:10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.30

Abstract

"Background: It is increasingly acknowledged that not only gender equality but also gender ideology plays a role in explaining fertility in advanced societies. In a micro perspective, the potential mismatch between gender equality (i.e., the actual sharing taking place in a couple) and gender ideology (i.e., attitudes and beliefs regarding gender roles) may drive childbearing decisions.
Objective: This paper assesses the impact of consistency between gender equality in attitudes and equality in the division of household labour on the likelihood of having another child, for different parities.
Methods: Relying on two-wave panel data of the Bulgarian, Czech, French, Hungarian, and Lithuanian Generations and Gender Surveys, we build a couple typology defined by gender attitudes and housework-sharing. The typology identifies four types of couple: 1) gender-unequal attitudes and gender-unequal housework-sharing; 2) gender-equal attitudes and gender-unequal housework-sharing; 3) gender-unequal attitudes and gender-equal housework-sharing; 4) gender-equal attitudes and gender-equal housework-sharing. The couple types enter into a logistic regression model on childbirth.
Results: The impact of the typology varies with parity and gender: taking as reference category the case of gender-equal attitudes and gender-equal division of housework, the effect of all the other couple types on a new childbirth is strong and negative for the second child and female respondents.
Conclusions: The consistency between gender ideology and actual partners' housework-sharing is only favourable for childbearing as long as there is gender equality in both the dimensions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gilles, Fabrice (2015): Evaluating the impact of a working time regulation on capital operating time. The French 35-hour work week experience. In: Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Jg. 62, H. 2, S. 117-148. DOI:10.1111/sjpe.12067

Abstract

"In this article, we evaluate the impact of diminishing weekly working hours on capital operating time using the French 35-hour working week experience. We merge the French survey on Capital Operating Time (COT, Banque de France, Central Bank of France; 1989 - 2004) and administrative Working Time Reduction agreements files (WTR, DARES, French Ministry of Labour; May 2003). We construct shift-work-based capital operating time indicators. Using differences-in-differences econometric models, we show that the implementation of the 35-hour work week did not induce any reduction in COT. Hence, firms increased shift-work to compensate for the decrease in working hours." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Elena Stancanelli (2015): Long workweeks and strange hours. In: ILR review, Jg. 68, H. 5, S. 1007-1018. DOI:10.1177/0019793915592375

Abstract

"U.S. workweeks are long compared to workweeks in other rich countries. Much less well-known is that Americans are more likely to work at night and on weekends. The authors examine the relationship between these two phenomena using the American Time Use Survey and time-diary data from France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Only small portions of the U.S. - European differences are attributable to observable characteristics. Adjusting for demographic and occupational differences, Americans' incidence of night and weekend work would drop by no more than 10% if the average European workweek prevailed. Even if no Americans worked long hours, the incidence of unusual work times in the United States would far exceed those in continental Europe." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Roit, Barbara Da, Marcel Hoogenboom & Bernhard Weicht (2015): The gender informal care gap. In: European Societies, Jg. 17, H. 2, S. 199-218. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2015.1007153

Abstract

"This article investigates the relationship between the 'gender informal care gap' - the relative contributions of women to informal care for non-co-resident relatives and other members of social networks, compared to men - and public care policies, level of care needs, labour market position and gendered care attitudes. Since the literature suggests that none of these factors alone can explain the gender informal care gap, we develop a model based on fuzzy-set/qualitative comparative analysis in order to identify patterns in the relationship between the factors. The analysis conducted at the macro-national level in 13 European countries, suggests that at the macro-level, the availability of public care services is crucial to understanding the gender informal care gap, while women's labour market position, the presence or absence of gendered care attitudes and the level of care needs play no or a relatively minor role." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Berg, Peter, Gerhard Bosch & Jean Charest (2014): Working-time configurations: a framework for analyszing diversity across countries. In: ILR review, Jg. 67, H. 3, S. 805-837. DOI:10.1177/0019793914537452

Abstract

"In this introductory article, we examine working time through the lens of the employment relationship and the interests of various actors. We discuss how the decline in the old standard working-time model has opened the door to greater diversity in working time. As the demands of employers and employees encourage new working-time practices, we find the responses to these demands differ substantially across countries. These differences reflect variations in labor market institutions and diverse power relations between labor and management." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Blazquez-Cuesta, Maite & Julian Moral Carcedo (2014): Women's part-time jobs: "Flexirisky" employment in five European countries. In: International Labour Review, Jg. 150, H. 2, S. 269-292. DOI:10.1111/j.1564-913X.2014.00204.x

Abstract

"European countries currently have segmented labour markets with flexible but insecure - 'flexirisky' - jobs, resulting in significant inequality between different categories of workers. Part-time jobs are one example: their flexibility may help workers reconcile work and family life, and increase women's labour force participation, but part-time employment can also result in new forms of inequality, thereby undermining EU equal opportunity policies. Empirically analysing labour market transitions in Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, this article Shows part-timers - who are mostly women - to be at higher risk of unemployment. lt calls for strengthening equality between part-time and full-time workers in terms of employment stability." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cahuc, Pierre & Stéphane Carcillo (2014): The detaxation of overtime hours. Lessons from the French experiment. In: Journal of labor economics, Jg. 32, H. 2, S. 361-400. DOI:10.1086/674987

Abstract

"In October 2007, France introduced an exemption on the income tax and social security contributions that applied to wages received for hours worked overtime. The goal of the policy was to increase the number of hours worked. This article shows that this reform has had no significant impact on hours worked. Conversely, it has had a positive impact on the overtime hours declared by highly qualified wage earners, who have opportunities to manipulate the overtime hours they declare in order to optimize their tax situation since the hours they work are difficult to verify." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Elena Stancanelli (2014): Long workweeks and strange hours. (NBER working paper 20449), Cambridge, Mass., 14 S. DOI:10.3386/w20449

Abstract

"American workweeks are long compared to other rich countries'. Much less well-known is that Americans are more likely to work at night and on weekends. We examine the relationship between these two phenomena using the American Time Use Survey and time-diary data from 5 other countries. Adjusting for demographic differences, Americans' incidence of night and weekend work would drop by about 10 percent if European workweeks prevailed. Even if no Americans worked long hours, the incidence of unusual work times in the U.S. would far exceed those in continental Europe." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Heger, Dörte (2014): Work and well-being of informal caregivers in Europe. (Ruhr economic papers 512), Essen, 55 S. DOI:10.4419/86788587

Abstract

"Informelle Pflegerinnen und Pfleger leisten einen wertvollen Beitrag zu der Pflege älterer Menschen. Welche Folgen die Erbringung von Pflege auf die pflegende Person hat, ist jedoch noch nicht vollständig bekannt. Diese Studie verdeutlicht den Zusammenhang zwischen Pflegeerbringung, Arbeit, kognitiven Fähigkeiten und Gesundheit in einem theoretischen Modell und schätzt die Auswirkung von Pflegeerbringung anhand von Längsschnittdaten aus 13 europäischen Ländern. Dabei wird insbesondere der Einfluss institutioneller Faktoren auf die Auswirkungen von Pflegeerbringung analysiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Pflegeerbringung die Erwerbstätigkeit in Ländern mit einem geringeren professionellen Pflegeangebot stark reduziert. Dagegen leiden in allen Ländern pflegende Personen häufiger an depressiven Symptomen. Die Ergebnisse für kognitive Fähigkeiten und Gesundheit sind gemischt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Lehndorff, Steffen (2014): It's a long way from norms to normality. The 35-hour week in France. In: ILR review, Jg. 67, H. 3, S. 838-863. DOI:10.1177/0019793914537453

Abstract

"The present overview on existing research addresses the double implication of working-time standards as legal (or contractual) norms, on the one hand, and socially established normality, on the other. Looking primarily at the evidence on die statutory 35-hour week in France, the author discusses the question of how changes in norms as stipulated by law or collective agreements may affect working-time practices in the society. Given the specific institutional and policy tradition of statist intervention in France, a comparison with die effects of the contractual 35-hour week on actual hours in die West German metal industry highlights particular strengths and weaknesses of the French approach. While the empirical evidence underscores the crucial importance of statutory norms and die interaction between governments and social actors, it equally reveals die increasing difficulties to set limits to normal hours for growing shares of the workforce just by setting statutory or collective norms. The transformation of new working-time norms into normality leading to a generalized shorter standard workweek is a long-term social process that requires continual intervention of actors at various levels and must be embedded in agreements both at die workplace and within households." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Nikolova, Milena & Carol Graham (2014): Employment, late-life work, retirement, and well-being in Europe and the United States. In: IZA journal of European Labor Studies, Jg. 3, S. 1-30. DOI:10.1186/2193-9012-3-5

Abstract

"Flexible work arrangements and retirement options provide one solution for the challenges of unemployment and underemployment, aging populations, and unsustainable public pension systems in welfare states around the world. We examine the relationships between well-being and job satisfaction on the one hand and employment status and retirement, on the other, using Gallup World Poll data for several European countries and the United States. We find that voluntary part-time workers are happier, experience less stress and anger, and have higher job satisfaction than other employees. Using statistical matching, we show that late-life workers under voluntary part-time or full-time arrangements have higher well-being than retirees. There is no well-being premium for involuntary late-life work and self-employment compared to retirement, however. Our findings inform ongoing debates about the optimal retirement age and the fiscal burdens of public pension systems." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Askenazy, Philippe (2013): Working time regulation in France from 1996 to 2012. In: Cambridge Journal of Economics, Jg. 37, H. 2, S. 323-347. DOI:10.1093/cje/bes084

Abstract

"France, which is often seen as an unusual country with a rigid 35-hour working week, has experienced massive changes in its regulation of working time in recent decades, including a progressive removal of 35-hour working week laws. These changes have affected and continue to affect workplace organisation, working conditions, job creation, productivity and wages. The 35-hour working week policy represents a reduction in working time as well as a complex package that restructured French labour law and that opened up a great deal of space for social bargaining. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of working time regulation and its political roots. It discusses the studies evaluating the 35-hour working week and examines some of the basic consequences of reversing this policy since 2002. It also highlights unexplored lines of research on this topic." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Boulin, Jean-Yves & Gilbert Cette (2013): Labour market adjustments during the crisis. The role of working time arrangements. In: Transfer, Jg. 19, H. 4, S. 475-487. DOI:10.1177/1024258913502624

Abstract

"Depending on the country in question, the crisis has had different impacts on employment. We will analyse the main reasons for these differences and scrutinize the main characteristics of the policies that have been implemented in reaction to the crisis. The analysis focuses mainly on a comparison between France and Germany. This leads us to stress the differences between these two countries in the ability of social partners to find ways to prevent redundancies through job protection agreements. It appears that the gap between job protection and employment protection can be overcome when certain conditions are met in dealing with employees working short time, with training as a paramount consideration. We highlight the role of new working time arrangements and regulations - among them working time accounts - for promoting flexibility and security for both employers and employees." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Broughton, Andrea (2013): EU employers take family-friendly working seriously. Dublin, 12 S.

Abstract

"A survey investigating family-friendly working policies in companies in six European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, UK) finds that employers take family-friendly working seriously and have put in place a range of policies to support this, especially in areas such as flexible working and parental support. The main driver for this in most countries was compliance with legislation or collective agreements. The economic crisis has had little impact on the provision of family-friendly working policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Du, Zaichao, Hua Yin & Lin Zhang (2013): The macroeconomic effects of the 35-h workweek regulation in France. In: The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, Jg. 13, H. 1, S. 1-21. DOI:10.1515/bejm-2012-0073

Abstract

"The 35-h workweek regulation, fully adopted in France in 2000, has been one of the most significant regulatory shocks imposed on any large economy. Yet the effects of the regulation remain controversial. In this paper, we evaluate the effects of the 35-h workweek regulation on unemployment and real GDP in France using a counterfactual analysis. We exploit the dependence of unemployment and GDP growth among different economic entities and construct the counterfactuals using data from countries other than France. We find that the 35-h workweek regulation reduced France's annual unemployment rate by 1.58% and raised the real GDP by 1.36% from 2000 to 2007." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hipp, Lena & Stefan Stuth (2013): Management und Teilzeitarbeit. Wunsch und Wirklichkeit. (WZBrief Arbeit 15), Berlin, 6 S.

Abstract

"Manager und Managerinnen arbeiten in Europa selten Teilzeit. Auch auf Führungsebene ist Teilzeit 'Frauendomäne'. Teilzeitarbeit im Management wird stark von der Arbeitszeit- und Geschlechterkultur in den Ländern beeinflusst." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Ruppanner, Leah (2013): Conflict between work and family: An investigation of four policy measures. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 110, H. 1, S. 327-347. DOI:10.1007/s11205-011-9929-z

Abstract

"Welfare states enact a range of policies aimed at reducing work-family conflict. While welfare state policies have been assessed at the macro-level and work-family conflict at the individual-level, few studies have simultaneously addressed these relationships in a cross-national multi-level model. This study addresses this void by assessing the relationship between work-family and family-work conflict and family-friendly policies in 10 countries. Applying a unique multi-level data set that couples country-level policy data with individual-level data (N=7,895) from the 2002 International Social Survey Programme, the author analyzes the relationship between work-family and family-work conflict and four specific policy measures: family leave, work scheduling, school scheduling, and early childhood education and care. The results demonstrate that mothers and fathers report less family-work and mothers less work-family conflict in countries with more expansive family leave policies. Also, in countries with longer school schedules mothers report less and women without children more work-family conflict." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Budig, Michelle J., Joya Misra & Irene Boeckmann (2012): The motherhood penalty in cross-national perspective. The importance of work-family policies and cultural attitudes. In: Social Politics, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 163-193. DOI:10.1093/sp/jxs006

Abstract

"Mothers' employment and earnings partly depend on social policies and cultural norms supporting women's paid and unpaid work. Previous research suggests that work-family policies are deeply shaped by their cultural context. We examine country variation in the associations between motherhood and earnings, in cultural attitudes surrounding women's employment, and in childcare and parental leave policies. We model how cultural attitudes moderate the impact of policies on women's earnings across countries. Parental leaves and public childcare are associated with higher earnings for mothers when cultural support for maternal employment is high, but have less positive or even negative relationships with earnings where cultural attitudes support the male breadwinner/female caregiver model." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hennig, Marina, Stefan Stuth, Mareike Ebach & Anna Erika Hägglund (2012): How do employed women perceive the reconciliation of work and family life? A seven-country comparison of the impact of family policies on women's employment. In: The international journal of sociology and social policy, Jg. 32, H. 9/10, S. 513-529. DOI:10.1108/01443331211257625

Abstract

"Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze how employed women perceive the reconciliation of work and family life in Denmark, Germany, France, Finland, Great Britain, Sweden and Switzerland. The paper seeks to explore why women in certain countries are more successful in combining family responsibilities with gainful employment.
Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2005, the questions are addressed by applying country specific linear regression analysis at the individual level, correlations at the country level as well as policy analysis.
Findings - The analysis shows that the most important factors influencing employed women's perception of the reconciliation are work load, the presence of children in the household and part-time employment. In addition, the findings point at cross-national differences. In countries where family policies focus on integrating men and women into the labour market, women rate the reconciliation of work and family life higher than in countries whose family policies aim at supporting the family.
Research limitations/implications - By comparing seven European countries the paper shows that family policies are closely related to employed women's perceptions of the reconciliation. In order to understand the interaction between the individual perception and the institutional framework, the paper suggests that further research is needed on women's perceptions in each country.
Originality/value - The paper explores how employed women perceive the reconciliation of work and family life in seven European countries and explains the differences by means of family policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lyness, Karen S., Janet C. Gornick, Pamela Stone & Angela R. Grotto (2012): It's all about control: worker control over schedule and hours in cross-national context. In: American Sociological Review, Jg. 77, H. 6, S. 1023-1049. DOI:10.1177/0003122412465331

Abstract

"Workers' ability to control their work schedules and hours varies significantly among industrialized countries. We integrate and extend prior research from a variety of literatures to examine antecedents of control and worker outcomes. Using hierarchical linear modeling and data for 21 countries from the 1997 ISSP Work Orientations Survey supplemented with national indicators developed from a variety of sources, we find that control is associated with country characteristics (affluence, welfare state generosity, union coverage, and working-time regulations), worker attributes (being male, being older, and being better educated), and job characteristics (working part-time, being self-employed, having higher earnings, and having more advancement opportunities). We also examine the relationship of control to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and strain-based work-family conflict. Generally, low levels of control are linked to negative outcomes for workers, especially for women, an effect sometimes modulated by country-level policy measures." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ohanian, Lee E. & Andrea Raffo (2012): Aggregate hours worked in OECD countries. New measurement and implications for business cycles. In: Journal of monetary economics, Jg. 59, H. 1, S. 40-56. DOI:10.1016/j.jmoneco.2011.11.005

Abstract

"We build a dataset of quarterly hours worked for 14 OECD countries. We document that hours are as volatile as output, that a large fraction of labor adjustment takes place along the intensive margin, and that the volatility of hours relative to output has increased over time. We use these data to reassess the Great Recession and prior recessions. The Great Recession in many countries is a puzzle in that labor wedges are small, while those in the U.S. Great Recession - and those in previous European recessions - are much larger." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ruppanner, Leah & Joy E. Pixley (2012): Work-to-family and family-to-work spillover: the implications of childcare policy and maximum work-hour legislation. In: Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Jg. 33, H. 3, S. 283-297. DOI:10.1007/s10834-012-9303-6

Abstract

"This paper addresses the relationship between individual-level work-to-family and family-to-work spillover and two country-level policy measures: childcare policy and maximum work hour legislation. Coupling Gornick and Meyers' (Families that work: policies for reconciling parenthood and employment, 2003) policy measures with individual-level data (N=7,895) from the 2002 International Social Survey Programme, the authors analyze whether men and women in countries with stronger childcare policies and maximum work-hour legislation exhibit work-to-family and family-to-work spillover. The authors find that neither childcare policy nor maximum work-hour legislation is significantly associated with work-to-family spillover. Stronger childcare policy is associated with lower family-to-work spillover for women, especially for women with young children. Maximum-hour legislation is associated with greater family-to-work spillover for women, with a significantly larger effect for mothers of young children." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Blundell, Richard, Antoine Bozio & Guy Laroque (2011): Extensive and intensive margins of labour supply. Working hours in the US, UK and France. (IZA discussion paper 6051), Bonn, 35 S.

Abstract

"This paper documents the key stylised facts underlying the evolution of labour supply at the extensive and intensive margins in the last forty years in three countries: United-States, United-Kingdom and France. We develop a statistical decomposition that provides bounds on changes at the extensive and intensive margins. This decomposition is also shown to be coherent with the analysis of labour supply elasticities at these margins. We use detailed representative micro-datasets to examine the relative importance of the extensive and intensive margins in explaining the overall changes in total hours worked." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Goux, Dominique, Eric Maurin & Barbara Petrongolo (2011): Worktime regulations and spousal labour supply. (IZA discussion paper 5639), Bonn, 43 S.

Abstract

"We investigate spillovers in spousal labour supply exploiting independent variation in hours worked generated by the introduction of the shorter workweek in France in the late 1990s. We find that female and male employees treated by the shorter legal workweek reduce their weekly labour supply by about 2 hours, and do not experience any reduction in their monthly earnings. While wives of treated men do not seem to adjust their working time at either the intensive or extensive margins, husbands of treated wives respond by cutting their workweek by about half an hour to one hour, according to specifications and samples. In particular, managers and professionals respond much more strongly to the shorter legal workweek in their wives' firms than men in lower occupations. These effects are consistent with the presence of significant cross-hour effects on labour supply for husbands, though not for wives." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Goux, Dominique, Eric Maurin & Barbara Petrongolo (2011): Worktime regulations and spousal labor supply. (CEP discussion paper 1096), London, 56 S.

Abstract

"We investigate cross-hour effects in spousal labor supply exploiting independent variation in hours worked generated by the introduction of the short workweek in France in the late 1990s. We find that female and male employees treated by the shorter legal workweek reduce their weekly labor supply by about 2 hours, and do not experience any reduction in their monthly earnings. While wives of treated men do not seem to adjust their working time at either the intensive or extensive margins, husbands of treated wives respond by cutting their labor supply by about half an hour to one hour per week, according to specifications and samples. Further tests reveal that husbands' labor supply response did not entail the renegotiation of usual hours with employers or changes in earnings, but involved instead a reduction in (unpaid) work involvement, whether within a given day, or through an increase in the take-up rate of paid vacation and/or sick leave. These margins of adjustment are shown to have no detrimental impact on men's (current) earnings. The estimated cross-hour effects are consistent with the presence of spousal leisure complementarity for husbands, though not for wives." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gregory, Abigail & Susan Milner (2011): Fathers and work-life balance in France and the UK. Policy and practice. In: The international journal of sociology and social policy, Jg. 31, H. 1-2, S. 34-52. DOI:10.1108/01443331111104797

Abstract

"Purpose - This paper seeks to focus on the role of organizations in mediating the impact of national work-life balance (WLB) policy on employees, in particular fathers.
Design/methodology/approach - It presents existing research about WLB policy implementation in organizations as well as the findings of empirical work in insurance and social work in France and the UK (questionnaire survey, case study analysis, interviews with national and sector-level trade union officials).
Findings - These indicate that fathers' take-up of WLB policies is the outcome of a complex dynamic between national fatherhood regimes, organizational and sector characteristics and the individual employee. They suggest that fathers tend to use WLB measures to spend time with their families where measures increase their sense of entitlement (state policies of paternity leave) or where measures offer non-gendered flexibility (reduced working time/organizational systems of flexi-time). In line with other studies it also finds that fathers extensively use informal flexibility where this is available (individual agency).
Practical implications - These findings have implications for the way WLB policies are framed at national and organizational level. At national level they indicate that policies work best when they give fathers a sense of entitlement, by giving specific rights linked to fatherhood (e.g. paternity leave or 'daddy month'-type arrangements), and or by providing universal rights (e.g. to reduced working time and/or flexible working time); however, where measures are linked to childcare they are often framed as mothers' rights when translated to the organizational level. The research also shows that informal flexibility is used and valued by fathers within organizations, but that such informal arrangements are highly subject to local variation and intermediation by line managers and co-workers; hence, for effective and even coverage they would need to be backed up by formal rights.
Originality/value - Cross-national comparative research into WLB policy and practice at national and organizational level is very rare. The empirical work presented in this paper, although exploratory, makes a significant contribution to our understanding of WLB policy and practice, particularly as it relates to fathers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Rohwer, Anja (2011): Die Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf im europäischen Vergleich. In: Ifo-Schnelldienst, Jg. 64, H. 10, S. 28-32.

Abstract

"Familien sehen sich immer häufiger verschiedensten Herausforderungen gegenübergestellt, wenn sie versuchen, Familie und Beruf miteinander zu vereinbaren. In diesem Beitrag werden die Ergebnisse einiger Studien vorgestellt, die europäische Unternehmen im Hinblick auf familienfreundliche Personalpolitik befragten. Demnach weisen die meisten europäischen Unternehmen dem Thema 'Familienfreundlichkeit' einen hohen Stellenwert zu." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Wirtz, Anna, Friedhelm Nachreiner & Katharina Rolfes (2011): Sonntagsarbeit. Auswirkungen auf Sicherheit, Gesundheit und Work-Life-Balance der Beschäftigten. In: Zeitschrift für Arbeitswissenschaft, Jg. 65, H. 2, S. 136-146.

Abstract

"Obwohl die Anzahl der Beschäftigten in biologisch und sozial ungünstigen Arbeitszeiten stetig steigt, liegen bislang nur äußerst wenige Erkenntnisse zu den Effekten der Arbeit am Wochenende, und insbesondere an Sonntagen, auf die Sicherheit, Gesundheit und soziale Teilhabe der Beschäftigten vor. Die vorliegende Studie demonstriert anhand der Daten aus zwei großen und repräsentativen europäischen Umfragen, dass Arbeit an Sonntagen das Risiko für arbeitsbedingte Unfälle sowie gesundheitliche und soziale Beeinträchtigungen deutlich erhöht. Diese Zusammenhänge lassen sich auch nach der Kontrolle potenziell konfundierender Effekte nachweisen. Das durch Sonntagsarbeit offensichtlich erhöhte Risiko für die Gefährdung von Arbeitsschutzzielen sollte daher in der Diskussion um die gesetzlichen Spielräume für die Sonntagsarbeit, z. B. im Einzelhandel, wie bei einer möglichen Revision der europäischen Arbeitszeitrichtlinie sowie insbesondere bei der Gestaltung der konkreten Arbeitszeiten auf jeden Fall angemessen berücksichtigt werden." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Flecker, Jörg, Annika Schönauer, Christoph Hermann & Bernadette Allinger (2010): Arbeitszeitverkürzung zur Umverteilung von Arbeit. Internationale Beispiele. (FORBA-Forschungsbericht 2010,01), Wien, 52 S.

Abstract

"Durch die Auswirkungen der gegenwärtigen Wirtschaftskrise auf den Arbeitsmarkt in Form stark steigender und vermutlich längere Zeit anhaltender Arbeitslosigkeit rückt die Sicherung von Beschäftigung durch eine Verkürzung und Umverteilung von Arbeitszeit wieder stärker in das öffentliche und politische Interesse. Innerhalb der Europäischen Union gibt es recht unterschiedliche nationale Traditionen und Erfahrungen, was die Verkürzung und Umverteilung von Arbeitszeit betrifft. Eine große Bandbreite an individuellen und kollektiven Maßnahmen wurde über viele Jahre mit unterschiedlichem Erfolg durchgeführt. Im Jahr 2001 legte FORBA einen vom Bundesministerium für Arbeit, Gesundheit und Soziales in Auftrag gegebenen Bericht vor, der eine Übersicht der arbeitszeitpolitischen Maßnahmen insbesondere des Staates in ausgewählten Mitgliedsstaaten in der Europäischen Union enthielt (Flecker et al. 2001). Es wurden darin insbesondere die Entstehungsbedingungen, die Umsetzung und die Wirkungen von Arbeitszeitverkürzung, -umverteilung und - flexibilisierung beschrieben. In der aktuellen Diskussion in Österreich besteht großes Interesse an den Maßnahmen und Erfahrungen in anderen Ländern. Ziel des Papiers ist es, ausgewählte Teile des genannten Berichts zu aktualisieren und neuere Entwicklungen darzustellen. Der Bericht basiert auf einer Literaturrecherche, auf der Auswertung von Datenbanken, wie dem European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO), einer E-Mail-Umfrage unter Delegierten von EUROCADRES und ergänzenden Informationen von weiteren ExpertInnen in den ausgewählten Ländern. Im ersten Abschnitt werden Reaktionen auf die Krise, insbesondere Kurzarbeit, beschrieben. Im zweiten Teil folgen Beispiele für die Verkürzung der Arbeitszeit durch Maßnahmen zur Gestaltung der Lebensarbeitszeit. Der dritte Teil behandelt die Verkürzung der Wochenarbeitszeit und die Begrenzung von Überstunden und der vierte Teil befasst sich mit der Differenzierung der Arbeitszeit, also der unterschiedlichen Regelung der Arbeitszeit für verschiedene Gruppen von Beschäftigten." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Smith, Mark & Stefan Zagelmeyer (2010): Working time management and SME performance in Europe. In: International journal of manpower, Jg. 31, H. 4, S. 392-409. DOI:10.1108/01437721011056994

Abstract

"This paper aims to explore the management of working time flexibility and firm performance, measured by operating hours, in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe.
Design/methodology/approach: The paper analyses the European Capital Operating time, Work and Employment Survey (EUCOWE), designed to collect workplace information on operating hours. With data on more than 17,000 establishments in six European countries - France, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK - the paper analyses working time patterns and operating hours.
Findings: The authors show the positive relationship between company size and operating times and how SMEs make more limited use of more advanced forms of working-time organisation that may allow them to extend their operating hours. The use of less complex working time measures such as overtime does not have the same positive association with operating hours. However, the results also highlight that smaller establishments can still benefit from the adoption of certain working time practices. The results suggest that the influence of the regulatory environment on the use of working practices or the duration of operating hours is not straightforward, and as such the impact of national regulatory frameworks cannot be discounted in the country-specific differences identified.
Originality/value: The paper uses the first comparable data on operating hours and working patterns to demonstrate the limitations on SME operating times across European countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Chemin, Matthieu & Etienne Wasmer (2009): Using Alsace-Moselle local laws to build a difference-in-differences estimation strategy of the employment effects of the 35-hour workweek regulation in France. In: Journal of labor economics, Jg. 27, H. 4, S. 487-524. DOI:10.1086/605426

Abstract

"France's 1998 implementation of the 35-hour workweek has been one of the greatest regulatory shocks on labor markets. Few studies evaluate the impact of this regulation because of a lack of identification strategies. For historical reasons due to the way Alsace-Moselle was returned to France in 1918, the implementation of France's 35-hour workweek was less stringent in that region than in the rest of the country, which is confirmed by double and triple differences. Yet it shows no significant difference in employment with the rest of France, which casts doubt on the effectiveness of this regulation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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(2009): Comparative analyses of operating hours and working times in the European Union. (Contributions to economics), Heidelberg u.a.: Physica-Verl., 217 S. DOI:10.1007/978-3-7908-2185-7

Abstract

Der Band ist die zweite Veröffentlichung im Rahmen des Projekts EUCOWE 'Working Times and Operating Hours in Europe'. In sechs europäischen Ländern - Frankreich, Großbritannien, Niederlande, Portugal, Spanien und Deutschland - wurde im Jahre 2003 eine Unternehmensbefragung zum Thema Arbeits- und Betriebszeiten durchgeführt. Das Projekt EUCOWE stellt die erste repräsentative und standardisierte europäische Betriebserhebung dar, die Unternehmen aller Kategorien und Größen sowie alle Wirtschaftszweige abdeckt. Der Band baut auf der ersten im Jahre 2007 erschienenen Publikation auf, in der die Untersuchungsmethode und deskriptive nationale Ergebnisse sowie erste vergleichende Analyseergebnisse präsentiert wurden, und ergänzt diese. In diesem zweiten Buch präsentiert das Forschungsteam von EUCOWE detaillierte ländervergleichende Analysen zur Beziehung zwischen Betriebszeiten, Arbeitszeiten und Beschäftigung in der Europäischen Union. In sechs empirischen Kapiteln des Bandes werden detaillierte vergleichende Analysen der Determinanten und Konsequenzen der Dauer und Flexibilität von Öffnungszeiten und Betriebszeiten vorgelegt. (IAB)

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Devetter, Francois-Xavier (2009): Gender differences in time availability. Evidence from France. In: Gender, Work and Organization, Jg. 16, H. 4, S. 429-450. DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0432.2009.00439.x

Abstract

"The aim of the article is to examine differences in work time from a gender perspective. To this end, a concept broader than mere duration of work time is constructed. This concept, which we call time availability, encompasses not only the volume of hours worked but also the scheduling and predictability of those hours. It is measured by a synthetic indicator showing the extent to which a given group of workers exceeds the societal time norm. After a presentation of the French context, we show that women seem to have less time availability, particularly at the ages that are most decisive in career terms. But these differences do not concern the same aspects of time availability. Thus the time constraints experienced mainly by women are less socially visible and hence undervalued by employers. This lower visibility comes, for a large part, from the social perception of women professionals." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fleck, Susan E. (2009): International comparisons of hours worked: an assessment of the statistics. In: Monthly labor review, Jg. 132, H. 5, S. 3-31.

Abstract

"A study of 13 countries reveals that measures of hours worked based on administrative sources are relatively low while measures based on establishment and labor force surveys are relatively high; thus, although ever improving, these measures cannot yet be taken at face value and are useful only for broad comparisons." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Langot, François & Coralia Quintero-Rojas (2009): European vs American hours worked. Assessing the role of the extensive and intensive margins. In: Economics Bulletin, Jg. 29, H. 2, S. 531-543.

Abstract

"Europeans have worked less than Americans since the 1970s. In this paper, we quantify the relative importance of the extensive and intensive margins of aggregate hours of market work on the observed differences. Our counterfactual exercises show that the two dimensions of the extensive margin, the employment rate and the participation rate, explain the most of the total-hours-gap between regions. Moreover, both ratios have similar weight. Conversely, the intensive margin, measured by the number of hours worked per employee, has the smallest role." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Smith, Mark, Stefan Zagelmeyer & Georg Sieglen (2009): Small and medium-sized establishments in Europe: operating hours and working time patterns. In: L. Delsen, F. Bauer, G. Cette & M. Smith (Hrsg.) (2009): Comparative analyses of operating hours and working times in the European Union, S. 117-142. DOI:10.1007/978-3-7908-2185-7_5

Abstract

In dem Beitrag wird der Zusammenhang zwischen Betriebszeiten und Arbeitszeitformen in Abhängigkeit von der Betriebsgröße untersucht. Im Mittelpunkt der Studie, der Daten aus dem Projekt EUCOWE 'Working Times and Operating Hours in Europe' zugrunde liegen, steht die Frage nach spezifischen Mustern der Nutzung unterschiedlicher Arbeitszeitformen zur Entkopplung und Flexibilisierung von Arbeits- und Betriebzeiten von kleinen und mittelgroßen Betrieben im Unterschied zu Großbetrieben. Berücksichtigung finden dabei auch verschiedene weitere betriebliche Charakteristika wie die betriebliche Eigenständigkeit, die Wirtschaftszweigzugehörigkeit und die Wettbewerbsorientierung. Darüber hinaus werden länderspezifische Unterschiede der Betriebszeitorganisation zwischen den untersuchten Ländern (Deutschland, Spanien, Portugal, Frankreich, Großbritannien, Niederlande) aufgezeigt. (IAB)

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Boeri, Tito, Michael Burda & Francis Kramarz (Hrsg.) (2008): Working hours and job sharing in the EU and USA. Are Europeans lazy? Or Americans crazy? (Report for the Fondazione Rodolfo DeBenedetti), Oxford u. a.: Oxford University Press, 269 S.

Abstract

"In the last 50 years the gap in labour productivity between Europe and the US has narrowed considerably with estimates in 2005 suggesting a EU-US labour productivity gap of about 5 per cent. Yet, average per capita income in the EU is still about 30 % lower than in the US. This persistent gap in income per capita can be almost entirely explained by Europeans working less than Americans. Why do Europeans work so little compared to Americans? What do they do with their spare time outside work? Can they be induced to work more without reducing labour productivity? If so, how? And what is the effect on well-being if policies are created to reward paid work as opposed to other potentially socially valuable activities, like childbearing? More broadly, should the state interfere at all when it comes to bargaining over working hours? This volume explores these questions and many more in an attempt to understand the changing nature of the hours worked in the USA and EU, as well as the effects of policies that impose working hour reductions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku)

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Bunel, Matthieu (2008): Flexibilité interne et flexibilité externe. Complémentarité, substitution et impact des 35 heures. (Centre d'Etudes de l'Emploi. Document de travail 98), Noisy-le-Grand, 36 S.

Abstract

"This paper deals with the French firm's organizational design practices, as well as the factors which determine organizational design by using a 6000 firms representative sample drawn in 2000 (Acémo survey). The use of overtime and short term contracts are the must useful flexible practices. Econometric tests analyze successively the probability to use one of these flexible practices. I identify the variables explaining such choices and I point out the existence of complementary and substitution effects related to the use of such flexible practices regarding the firm's working time reduction process and regarding the firm's modulation/annualisation workplace agreement. Econometrics tests suggest the intern/extern flexible practice choice or the quantita-tive/qualitative flexible practice choice is not related to demand characteristics as assumed by theoretical studies. For instance, the fluctuation forecast does not affect the flexible practice choice. Finally a working time agreement does not affect the use of the other flexible practices. However, when such agreement is associated with a modulation/annualisation workforce agreement it seems to increase intern flexible practice." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
"Cet article étudie les modes de flexibilité utilisés par les entreprises françaises pour faire face aux fluctuations d'activité en s'appuyant sur les données de l'enquête Acémo flexibilité réalisée en 2000 auprès de plus de 6 000 établissements. Les heures supplémentaires, les contrats à durée déterminée et l'intérim constituent les modes de flexibilité les plus fréquents. Les estimations proposées portent successivement sur la probabilité de recourir à ces modes de flexibilité interne et externe. L'objectif est d'analyser les mécanismes de complémentarité et de substitution associés à leur utilisation en fonction des caractéristiques de la demande et de la main-d'oeuvre de l'établissement ainsi que de sa situation à l'égard des 35 heures et de la mise en oeuvre d'un dispositif de modulation/annualisation. Les résultats obtenus montrent que l'arbitrage entre l'utilisation des modes de flexibilité interne/externe ou flexibilité quantitative/qualitative n'est pas lié aux caractéristiques de la demande comme le suppose habituellement la littérature sur l'organisation de la main-d'oeuvre."

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Carley, Mark (2008): Working time developments 2008. Dublin, 35 S.

Abstract

"In 2008, average collectively agreed weekly working time in the European Union stood at 38.6 hours; agreed normal annual working time averaged about 1,740 hours. Of the three economic sectors examined in this study, agreed weekly working hours are highest in metalworking (38.7), followed by the banking and local government sectors (both 38.3). Average collectively agreed paid annual leave entitlement was 25.2 days across the EU in 2008, although the total varied significantly between the 'old' and the new Member States. This report also examines statutory working time and leave limits, and actual working hours. This annual update looks at a number of aspects of the duration of working time in the European Union and Norway in 2008, based on contributions from the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) national centres. The study examines the following issues: average weekly working hours as set by collective agreements - both at national level and for three specific economic sectors; statutory limits on weekly and daily working time; average actual weekly working hours; annual leave entitlement, as set by collective agreements and law; and estimates of average collectively agreed annual working time. The report provides a general overview of the current situation and developments regarding working time, but the figures provided should be read with caution, and the various notes and explanations borne in mind. This reflects the fact that there are a number of problems in international comparisons of the length of working time. Comparable data are not collected in all countries, while particular difficulties include the following: the existence of different ways of calculating working time, with annual, rather than weekly calculation increasingly common in some countries (TN0308101S); the fact that working time reductions in some countries have been introduced through extra days off or cuts in annual working hours, leaving the normal working week relatively unchanged; the increasing use of schemes whereby weekly working hours may vary considerably, with an average being maintained over a reference period; the treatment of part-time workers; the differing roles of collective bargaining and legislation, with the latter having an impact on actual hours in some countries, but acting only as a maximum 'safety net' in others." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Devetter, Francois-Xavier (2008): Travailler au-delà de 48 heures par semaine. In: Travail et emploi H. 114, S. 59-70.

Abstract

"Even if very long working time hours are less important than in English-spoken countries, they still exist in France. In 2005, near 9% of salaried workers work 48 hours and more per week. Far from an homogeneous population, it contains two main and different categories. On one hand we could find managers and professionals who supply long hours in exchange of great monetary and non-monetary compensations. On the other hand we find low skill workers for whom time availability at work is not recognize." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Estevao, Marcello & Filipa Sa (2008): The 35-hour workweek in France. Straightjacket or welfare improvement? In: Economic policy, Jg. 23, H. 55, S. 417-463.

Abstract

"Workweek reduction laws may be beneficial if market interactions do not fully take into account the preferences reflected in declining secular trends in working hours. The most recent law in France shortened the workweek from 39 to 35 hours in 2000 for large firms, and in 2002 for small firms. Analysing differences between large and small firm employees before and after the law, we find that aggregate employment was unaffected but labour turnover increased, as firms shed workers who became more expensive. Survey responses indicate that the welfare impact of the law was different across groups of workers: women but not men may have benefited from coordination to a shorter workweek, and there is also evidence of negative welfare effects for managers, possibly due to the law's administrative burden." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gash, Vanessa (2008): Preference or constraint? Part-time workers' transitions in Denmark, France and the United Kingdom. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 22, H. 4, S. 655-674. DOI:10.1177/0950017008096741

Abstract

"This article investigates whether women work part-time through preference or constraint and argues that different countries provide different opportunities for preference attainment. It argues that women with family responsibilities are unlikely to have their working preferences met without national policies supportive of maternal employment. Using event history analysis the article tracks part-time workers' transitions to both full-time employment and to labour market drop-out. The article compares the outcome of workers in the UK, a country with little support for maternal employment, relative to Denmark and France, two countries with a long history of facilitating workers' engagement in both paid employment and family life. It finds evidence of part-time constraint in the UK relative to the other two countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Langot, François & Coralia Quintero Rojas (2008): Explaining the evolution of hours worked and employment across OECD countries. An equilibrium search approach. (IZA discussion paper 3364), Bonn, 39 S.

Abstract

"Since 1960, the dynamics of the aggregate hours of market work exhibit dramatic differences across industrialized countries. Before 1980, these differences seem to come from the hours worked per employee (the intensive margin). However, since 1980 a notable feature of the data is that the divergence across countries responds to quantitatively important differences along the employment rate (the extensive margin). In this paper we develop an equilibrium matching model where both margins are endogenous. The model is rich enough to account for the behavior of the two margins of the aggregate hours when we include the observed heterogeneity across countries of both the taxes and the labor market institutions such as the unemployment benefits and the bargaining power. Because these findings come from on unified framework, they also give a strong support to the matching models." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Langot, François & Coralia Quintero Rojas (2008): European vs. American hours worked. Assessing the role of the extensive and intensive margins. (IZA discussion paper 3846), Bonn, 21 S.

Abstract

"Europeans have worked less than Americans since the 1970s. In this paper, we quantify the relative importance of the extensive and intensive margins of aggregate hours of market work on the observed differences. Our counterfactual exercises show that the two dimensions of the extensive margin, the employment rate and the participation rate, explain the most of the total-hours-gap between regions. Moreover, both ratios have similar weight. Conversely, the intensive margin, measured by the number of hours worked per employee, has the smallest role." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Presser, Harriet B., Janet C. Gornick & Sangeeta Parashar (2008): Gender and nonstandard work hours in 12 European countries. In: Monthly labor review, Jg. 131, H. 2, S. 83-103.

Abstract

"Labor force surveys conducted in several European countries in 2005 indicate high levels of nonstandard work hours, varying by gender; by contrast, nonstandard work hours for both men and women vary little by whether they have or do not have children." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Saffer, Henry & Karine Lamiraud (2008): The effect of hours of work on social interaction. (NBER working paper 13743), Cambridge, Mass., 25 S. DOI:10.3386/w13743

Abstract

"Over time, increases in hours of work per capita have created the intuitively plausible notion that there is less time available to pursue social interactions. The specific question addressed in this paper is the effect of hours of work on social interaction. This is a difficult empirical question since omitted factors could increase both hours of work and social interaction. The approach taken in this paper utilizes an exogenous decline in hours of work in France due to a new employment law. The results clearly show that the employment law reduced hours of work but there is no evidence that the extra hours went to increased social interactions. Although hours of work are not an important determinant of social interaction, human capital is found to be important. The effect of human capital, as measured by education and age, is positive for membership groups but negative for visiting relatives and friends. Also, contrary to expectations, there are no important differences in the determinants of social interaction by gender, marital status or parent status. Finally, a comparison between France and the US show that the response to human capital and other variables are much the same in both nations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Schreiber, Sven (2008): Did work-sharing work in France? Evidence from a structural co-integrated VAR model. In: European journal of political economy, Jg. 24, H. 2, S. 478-490. DOI:10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2007.11.004

Abstract

"French employment increased significantly after a labor-market reform in 2000. This paper analyzes whether that development was driven by work-sharing (the mandated reduction of the workweek length) as claimed by the government. We use a structural VAR model in error correction form (SVECM) to assess the impact of shocks to the workweek length. It turns out that downward workweek shocks actually had adverse employment effects. We conclude that other reform components were responsible for the employment success in France, namely reduced non-wage labor costs and possibly higher firm-level flexibility of temporarily adjusting the workweek." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Anxo, Dominique, Lennart Flood, Letizia Mencarini, Ariane Pailhe, Anne Solaz & Maria Letizia Tanturri (2007): Time allocation between work and family over the life-cycle. A comparative gender analysis of Italy, France, Sweden and the United States. (IZA discussion paper 3193), Bonn, 38 S.

Abstract

"This article analyses the extent to which changes in household composition over the life course affect the gender division of labour. It identifies and analyses cross-country disparities between France, Italy, Sweden and United States, using most recent data available from the Time Use National Surveys. We focus on gender differences in the allocation of time between market work, domestic work and leisure over the life-cycle. In order to map the life-cycle, we distinguish between nine key cross-country comparable life stages according to age and family structure such as exiting parental home, union formation, parenthood, and retiring from work. By using appropriate regression techniques (Tobit with selection, Tobit and OLS), we show large discrepancies in the gender division of labour at the different life stages. This gender gap exists in all countries at any stage of the life course, but is usually smaller at the two ends of the age distribution, and larger with parenthood. Beyond social norms, the impact of parenthood on time allocation varies across countries, being smaller in those where work-family balance policies are more effective and traditionally well-established." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Calavrezo, Oana, Richard Duhautois & Emmanuelle Walkowiak (2007): The effect of working time reduction on short-time compensation. A French empirical analysis. (Centre d'Etudes de l'Emploi. Document de travail 88), Noisy-le-Grand, 20 S.

Abstract

"The short-time compensation (STC) program aims to avoid lay-offs in case of short-term downturns. According to insurance models, STC is an instrument of both job security and flexibility. This paper investigates the impact of workweek reduction to 35 hours on the French STC recourse. We quantify the average decrease in the STC authorized days with kernel matching estimators assessed on a balanced panel of French establishments. We highlight a substitution effect between STC and working time reduction (WTR) due to their internal flexibility role. As a consequence, the WTR policy refocused STC on its initial job security function." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Delsen, Lei, Derek Bosworth, Hermann Groß & Rafael Munoz de Bustillo y Llorente (Hrsg.) (2007): Operating hours and working times. A survey of capacity utilisation and employment in the European Union. (Contributions to economics), Heidelberg u.a.: Physica-Verl., 251 S.

Abstract

Das Buch stellt die Ergebnisse des Projekts EUCOWE vor, einer repräsentativen Betriebsbefragung zur international vergleichenden Untersuchung von Betriebszeiten, Arbeitszeiten und Beschäftigung in Frankreich, Deutschland, den Niederlanden, Portugal, Spanien und Großbritannien. Bei dem Projekt handelt es sich um die erste repräsentative und standardisierte Befragung europäischer Unternehmen, die alle Betriebsgrößen und Wirtschaftszweige umfasst. Folgende Aspekte werden analysiert: Welche Betriebszeiten sind für die sechs Untersuchungsländer charakteristisch? Welche Unterschiede gibt es in Hinblick auf Wirtschaftszweige und Betriebsgrößen? Durch welche Formen der Arbeitszeitorganisation werden diese Betriebszeiten umgesetzt? Wie sieht das Verhältnis zwischen Betriebszeit und Beschäftigung aus? Das Buch stellt die umfassendste Studie zu Betriebszeiten, Kapazitätsauslastung, Arbeitszeit und Beschäftigung dar, die in der Europäischen Union verfügbar ist. (IAB)

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Dupre, Michele & Michel Lallement (2007): Regulation of working time in SMEs of the information and communication technology sector in France. In: New Technology, Work and Employment, Jg. 22, H. 1, S. 66-82. DOI:10.1111/j.1468-005X.2007.00184.x

Abstract

"This paper focuses on the impact of the French working-time reduction law on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the information and communication technology sector. After a presentation of the main features of this sector, made up of a wide range of SMEs, the paper aims at describing how the actors have negotiated the application of the new legal framework at sector and company levels. The new working-time regulation outlines the status of high-skilled employees (cadres) as a very important conflict and negotiation subject." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bauer, Frank & Hermann Groß (2006): Betriebszeiten in Europa. Wo stehen die deutschen Betriebe? In: WSI-Mitteilungen, Jg. 59, H. 6, S. 314-320.

Abstract

"In dem Beitrag werden in sechs europäischen Ländern (Frankreich, Deutschland, Großbritannien, die Niederlande, Portugal und Spanien) Dauer und Flexibilität der Betriebszeiten verglichen. Dieser internationale Vergleich basiert auf repräsentativen Betriebsbefragungen, die in allen Untersuchungsländern mit einem harmonisierten Untersuchungsdesign durchgeführt wurden. Es wird gezeigt, dass die deutschen Betriebe bei Dauer und Flexibilität der Betriebszeiten einen Spitzenplatz einnehmen. Dies gilt ohne Einschränkungen für die Betriebe des produzierenden Gewerbes, allerdings nur mit Abstrichen für die Betriebe des Dienstleistungsbereichs." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Bloom, Nick, Tobias Kretschmer & John Van Reenen (2006): Work-life balance, management practices and productivity. London, 53 S.

Abstract

"A debate is raging all over the developed world about quality of work issues. As unemployment has fallen in the US and UK, attention has focused more on the quality rather than quantity of jobs. This has sharpened as women's participation has risen and issues of work-life balance and family-friendly policies have risen up the political agenda. This paper has tried to shed some empirical light on these debates. We characterized two opposing views of globalization entitled the pessimistic (or trade off) and the optimistic (or win-win) view. The pessimists argue that 'savage neoliberalism' encapsulated by tougher product market competition, globalization and 'Anglo-Saxon' managerial policies are undesirable for workers. Although these forces will raise productivity, they come at the expense of misery for workers in the form of poor work-life balance (long hours, job insecurity, intense and unsatisfying work). The more optimistic Human Resource Management literature argues that better work-life balance will, in fact, improve productivity (and even profitability) and employers are mistakenly failing to treat their workers as assets and implement better work-life balance policies. In short, we find evidence for a hybrid view between these two extremes. Using originally collected data, we show that we have a useful firm specific measure of WLB. The pessimists' argument that 'Anglo-Saxon' management practices are negatively associated with worse WLB is rejected - there is a positive association as suggested by the optimists. Similarly, the pessimists' theory that competition is inevitably bad for workers' WLB is also rejected: there is no significantly negative relationship. Larger firms - which are typically more globalized - also have better WLB practices on average. However, the view that WLB will improve productivity is also rejected: there is no relationship between productivity and WLB once we control for good management. Neither is there support for the pessimists' prediction that WLB is negatively associated with productivity. Finally, looking at US multinationals based in Europe we find an intriguing result that these firms appear to bring over their superior US management practices with them to Europe but then adopt more worker-friendly European work-life balance practices. Why US firms internationalize their management practices but localize their work-life balance practices appears to be due to a combination of regulations and social norms, an area of ongoing research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bunel, Matthieu (2006): Les modes de flexibilite dans les etablissements francais. In: Travail et emploi H. 106, S. 7-24.

Abstract

"This paper deals with the French firm's organisational design practices, as well as the factors which determine organisational design by using a 6 000 firms representative sample drawn in 2000 (Acemo survey). The use of overtime and short term contracts are the most useful flexible practices. Econometrics tests analyse successively the probability to use one of this flexible practice, and the intensity of the using. I identify the variables explaining such choices and I point out the existence of complementary and Substitution effects related to the use of such flexible practices regarding the firm's working time reduction process and regarding the firm's modulation/annualisation workplace agreement. Econometrics tests suggest the intern/extern flexible practice choice or the quantitative/qualitative flexible practice choice is not related to demand characteristics as assumed by theoretical studies. For instance, the fluctuation forecast does not affect the flexible practice choice. Finally a working time agreement has a negative impact on overtime but does not affect the use of short time contracts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Estevao, Marcello & Filipa Sa (2006): Are the French happy with the 35-hour workweek? (IZA discussion paper 2459), Bonn, 26 S.

Abstract

"Legally mandated reductions in the workweek can be either a constraint on individuals' choice or a tool to coordinate individuals' preferences for lower work hours. We confront these two hypotheses by studying the consequences of the workweek reduction in France from 39 to 35 hours, which was first applied to large firms in 2000. Using the timing difference by firm size to set up a quasi-experiment and data from the French labor force survey, we show that the law constrained the choice of a significant number of individuals: dual-job holdings increased, some workers in large firms went to small firms where hours were not constrained, and others were replaced by cheaper, unemployed individuals as relative hourly wages increased in large firms. Employment of persons directly affected by the law declined, although the net effect on aggregate employment was not significant." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Garabige, Alexandra (2006): La negociation sur les 35 heures dans une municipalite. L'hybridation des formes de dialogue. In: Travail et emploi H. 105, S. 19-28.

Abstract

"This article analyses the effects on dynamics of industrial relations in French public services of the hybridisation of public and private models of manpower management. The study begins with the case of the negotiation over the reduction of working hours in a local council. In order 'to modernise the public services', the town council organises an original procedure of dialogue with the objective to reconcile participate democracy and representative democracy. From a detailed chronicle, the research shows how adjustments of the volume of working hours are negotiated between employers, trade-union and employees. It also aims at assessing the impact of these procedural innovations over the process of regulation and the service dispensed to the public." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Pissarides, Christopher A. (2006): Unemployment and hours of work. The North Atlantic divide revisited. (CEP discussion paper 757), London, 51 S.

Abstract

"The author examines the dynamic evolutions of unemployment, hours of work and the service share since the war in the United States and Europe. The theoretical model brings together all three and emphasizes technological growth. Computations show that the very low unemployment in Europe in the 1960s was due to the high productivity growth associated with technological catch-up. Productivity also played a role in the dynamics of hours but a full explanation for the fast rise of service employment and the big fall in aggregate hours needs further research. Taxation has played a role but results are mixed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Alis, David, Eric Campoy, Mrc Dumas & Anne Joyeau (2005): 35 heures: vers un nouvel equilibre entre travail et hors travail? In: Travail et emploi H. 101, S. 45-57.

Abstract

"The application of the reduction of working time (ARTT) constitutes a factor of development on a large scale for both individuals and organisations in French firms. This research attempts to improve our understanding of the ARTT agreements and to evaluate their impacts on the development of organisations, on attitudes and on behaviour at work; particularly as regards the implications for working time and non-working time. The methodology is based on a study of a single case using both quantitative and qualitative methods (interviews and questionnaires): The statistics approach enables us to measure and to analyse changes which appeared within individual behaviour undergoing the reduction of working time. The method of those interviews complements and highlights these statistics results. The field studied is a large insurance company in West of France where more than 1,200 employees have been working 35 hours since Spring 1999." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Auray, Stéphane & Samuel Danthine (2005): Bargaining frictions and hours worked. (IZA discussion paper 1722), Bonn, 36 S.

Abstract

"A matching model with labor/leisure choice and bargaining frictions is used to explain (i) differences in GDP per hour and GDP per capita, (ii) differences in employment, (iii) differences in the proportion of part-time work across countries. The model predicts that the higher the level of rigidity in wages and hours the lower are GDP per capita, employment, part-time work and hours worked, but the higher is GDP per hours worked. In addition, it predicts that a country with a high level of rigidity in wages and hours and a high level of income taxation has higher GDP per hour and lower GDP per capita than a country with less rigidity and a lower level of taxation. This is due mostly to a lower level of employment. In contrast, a country with low levels of rigidity in hour and in wage setting but with a higher level of income taxation has a lower GDP per capita and a higher GDP per hour than the economy with low rigidity and low taxation, because while the level of employment! is similar in both economies, the share of part-time work is larger." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bauer, Frank, Hermann Groß, Georg Sieglen & Michael Schwarz (2005): Betriebszeit- und Arbeitszeitmanagement. Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Betriebsbefragung in Europa. (Dortmunder Beiträge zur Sozial- und Gesellschaftspolitik 55), Münster: LIT, 155 S.

Abstract

Die Studie stellt eine Analyse des Betriebszeit- und Arbeitszeitmanagements in sechs europäischen Ländern vor (Großbritannien, Deutschland, Frankreich, die Niederlande, Portugal und Spanien). Zusätzlich wurde Nordrhein-Westfalen in die Analyse miteinbezogen. Die Analyse basiert auf einer repräsentativen Betriebsbefragung. Die Ergebnisse belegen, dass es keinerlei empirische fundierte Anhaltspunkte für die Behauptung gibt, in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland sei die Arbeitszeit zu kurz und zu unflexibel. Die Betriebe in Deutschland weisen mit denen in Großbritannien und Frankreich deutlich längere Betriebszeiten auf als die Betriebe Spaniens, Portugals oder der Niederlande. Dabei liegen die nordrhein-westfälischen Betriebe noch leicht über dem bundesrepublikanischen Durchschnitt. Die Befunde zur Konstitution der Betriebszeiten zeigen, dass die Untersuchungsländer mit den längsten indirekten Betriebszeiten auch die höchsten Anteile bei der Schichtarbeit aufweisen. Insbesondere in den britischen, aber auch in den deutschen Betrieben des Produzierenden Gewerbes sind die verhältnismäßig langen Betriebszeiten auch durch versetzte Arbeitszeiten gebildet. Im Dienstleistungsbereich haben Großbritannien, Portugal und Frankreich die längsten Betriebszeiten. In allen Untersuchungsländern müssen die Betriebe des Produzierenden Gewerbes auf marktbedingte Schwankungen häufiger reagieren als die des Dienstleistungsbereichs. In allen Untersuchungsländern ist die Variation der Arbeitszeiten das bevorzugte 'Bewältigungsmuster'. Die Beschäftigungsverhältnisse mit sinkenden Betriebszeiten sind in allen Untersuchungsländern zurückgegangen. (IAB)

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Bowles, Samuel & Yongjin Park (2005): Emulation, inequality, and work hours. Was Thorsten Veblen right? In: The economic journal, Jg. 115, H. 507, S. F397-F412.

Abstract

"We investigate the manner in which a desire to emulate the rich influences individuals' allocation of time between labour and leisure, greater inequality inducing longer work hours as a result. Data on work hours in ten countries over the period 1963-98 show that greater inequality is indeed associated longer work hours. These 'Veblen effects' are large and the estimates are robust using country fixed effects and other specifications. Because consumption inequality is a public bad, a social welfare optimum cannot be implemented by a flat tax on consumption but may be accomplished by more complicated (progressive) consumption taxes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Courtioux, Pierre & Christine Erhel (2005): Les politiques en faveur des seniors: quelles reformes? Comparaison Allemagne, France, Royaume-Uni, Suede. In: Travail et emploi H. 102, S. 107-118.

Abstract

"Under the impulse of the EU since the 1980s, European states have implemented policies which attempt to raise the level of employment among seniors. Despite the common gaol, national policies remain heterogeneous, as they are linked to existing systems of employment and of social protection. Policies range from those inspired by a liberal logic (the UK) to those of a universalistic logic (Sweden). Germany and France demonstrate the importance of the effect of institutional systems (competition and the substitution of mechanisms). The authors give details of the reforms carried out by France, Sweden, Germany and the UK, analysing very closely the two institutionalist approaches: the first of these in terms of local justice, which highlights the different dimensions of public policy choices, the second approach functions with the analysis of institutional change." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Defalvard, Herve (2005): Les 35 heures et la preference pour le loisir. (Centre d'Etudes de l'Emploi. Document de travail 37), Noisy-le-Grand, 24 S.

Abstract

Die Studie legt eine Sekundäranalyse der Dares-Studie 'RTT et Modes de vie' (Arbeitszeitverkürzung und Lebensweisen) vor. Durch eine textuelle Datenanalyse mithilfe der Software Alceste wurden fünf lexikalische Welten ermittelt, die Lebensweisen repräsentieren, die mit Arbeitszeitverkürzung zusammenhängen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Repräsentation von Freizeit kein exogener Wert ist, wie die mikroökonomische Analyse behauptet, sondern dass Freizeitpräferenzen von Arbeitnehmern aus ihrer realen Lebenssituation heraus gebildet werden. Freizeitpräferenz drückt sich niemals nur als Verfügung über rein quantitative Zeit aus. Drei arbeitszeitpolitische Orientierungen werden aus der Analyse abgeleitet: Leistungsorientierung und Ablehnung von Arbeitszeitverkürzung, Verkürzung der Arbeitszeit als Mittel zur Schaffung sozialer Gerechtigkeit und Arbeitszeitverkürzung zur Förderung des sozialen Lebens, vor allem des Familienlebens. (IAB)

Zitatform

Defalvard, Herve, Martine Lurol & Evelyne Polzhuber (2005): Les inegalites de genre dans le passage aux 35 heures, sources et resistances. In: Travail et emploi H. 102, S. 45-56.

Abstract

"During a survey of signatories the Aubry agreements number I, 52 interviews were analysed with a specific program. They highlight the consequences of the negotiations, inside companies, of the application of the 35 hour week: these consequences bare specifically on inequality between men and women due, in part, to the commissioned representatives. Female signatories are most of the time commissioned by default, as opposed to their male colleges, who choose to be representatives. Commissioned women negotiate agreements which favour balancing personal and professional life, while commissioned men give this preoccupation less priority. Union representatives'strategies are closer to the commissioned women, and thus paradoxically contribute of gender inequalities, leaving domestic tasks and child care to women. While female union representatives are aware of the equality issues, but only the young male union representatives, intending to participate in childcare, can contribute to a positive evolution." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Garner, Helene, Dominique Meda & Claudia Senik (2005): Conciliation entre vie professionnelle et vie familiale. Les lecons des enquetes aupres des menages. In: Travail et emploi H. 102, S. 57-67.

Abstract

"Work and family are not only two 'values'or two important domains which constitute to varying degrees the identity of individuals, but also and especially two 'activities' that take up much time. Individuals (particularly women, given the present repartition of domestic and family tasks) are forced to arbitrate between these two activities. This competition which is at the same time temporal and financial, can be 'resolved' in diverse ways including the decision to stop working. This article analyses the determining factors of such a decision, in particular, the condition of work. Managing work and family life can cause difficulties deeply felt by women as well as by men. Work rhythm appears strongly bound up with the perception of such difficulties." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Smith, Mark (2005): Dual earning in Europe. Time and occupational equity. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 19, H. 1, S. 131-139.

Abstract

Der Anteil der Haushalte mit Doppelverdienern wächst in ganz Europa. Dieser gesellschaftliche Trend hat Auswirkungen auf den Arbeitsmarkt, die sozialen Sicherungssysteme und die Beziehungen der Geschlechter untereinander. Der Beitrag untersucht auf der Basis von Daten des Europäischen Labour Force Survey (ELFS) wie sich in Doppelverdienerhaushalten in sechs europäischen Ländern die zeitlichen Belastungen und berufliche Statusfragen auswirken. Dabei liegt das Hauptaugenmerk auf der Frage, welche Rolle die Teilzeitarbeit in Haushalten mit Doppelverdienern spielt. Die Ergebnisse der empirischen Untersuchung zeigen, dass der Anstieg der Zahl der Doppelverdienerhaushalte in den einzelnen Staaten unterschiedlich verläuft. Unterschiede sind auch bei den Beschäftigungsverhältnissen zu beobachten. Es gibt jedoch keine direkte Korrelation zwischen hochwertiger Beschäftigung von Doppelverdienern und einem höheren Maß an Gleichstellung der Geschlechter in bezug auf arbeitszeitliche Belastung und beruflichen Status. Teilzeitarbeit jedoch ist in den meisten Ländern gleichbedeutend mit geringerem beruflichen Status und einer ungleichen Verteilung der haushaltlichen Belastungen. Der Preis für geschlechtliche Gleichstellung in der Partnerschaft in Kombination mit höherwertigen beruflichen Tätigkeiten liegt darin, längere Arbeitszeiten mit familiären Verpflichtungen in Einklang bringen zu müssen. (IAB)

Zitatform

Afsa, Cedric & Pierre Biscourp (2004): L'evolution des rythmes de travail entre 1995 et 2001. Quel impact des 35 heures? In: Economie et Statistique H. 376/377, S. 173-198.

Abstract

"Die Einführung der 35-Stunden-Woche beschränkte sich nicht auf die Verkürzung der gesetzlichen Arbeitszeit. Denn die Verhandlungen in den einzelnen Branchen oder Unternehmen bezogen sich gleichzeitig auch auf die Dauer der Arbeit, deren Organisation, die Arbeitsbedingungen und die Löhne. In dem Artikel werden hauptsächlich die Auswirkungen der 35-Stunden-Woche auf die zeitliche Organisation der Arbeit, insbesondere auf die Arbeitsrhythmen der Arbeitnehmer analysiert. Die präsentierten Ergebnisse basieren auf der Auswertung zweier Erhebungen über die Arbeitsdauer, die das Insee 1995 und 2001 vor und nach den so genannten 'Aubry-Gesetzen' über die Einführung der 35-Stunden-Woche durchführte, sowie der im Arbeitsministerium eingerichteten Unternehmensdatei zur Verfolgung der Vereinbarungen betreffend die Arbeitszeitverkürzung. Diese von den Unternehmen des Privatsektors im Rahmen der 'Aubry-Gesetze' getroffenen Vereinbarungen haben die Arbeitsrhythmen der Arbeitnehmer beeinflusst. Die Norm bleibt zwar das Aufeinanderfolgen identischer Arbeitswochen; in den Unternehmen, die die 35-Stunden-Woche eingeführt haben, ist sie aber rückläufig. Rund 5 % der Arbeitnehmer dieser Unternehmen, die zuvor an gleich vielen Tagen in der Woche mit gleichen Uhrzeiten arbeiteten, sind zu regelmäßigen Arbeitsrhythmen, die in längeren Zeitabschnitten als der Woche organisiert werden, übergegangen oder arbeiten an Tagen oder zu Uhrzeiten, die sehr stark schwanken. Diese beiden Arten von Arbeitsrhythmen haben bei den Arbeitnehmern, in deren Unternehmen die 35-Stunden-Woche eingeführt wurde, in etwa gleichem Umfang zugenommen. Zudem unterscheiden sich der Umfang dieser Auswirkungen und die Art des neuen Arbeitsrhythmus je nach der hierarchischen Stellung des Arbeitnehmers, seinem Tätigkeitsbereich und der Größe seines Unternehmens. In der Industrie kommt es häufiger zu unregelmäßigen Arbeitstagen als im Dienstleistungssektor. Von unregelmäßigen Uhrzeiten sind lediglich die Führungskräfte betroffen. Umgekehrt sind regelmäßige Arbeitsrhythmen über mehrere Wochen hinweg ausschließlich bei den anderen Arbeitnehmern anzutreffen, in erster Linie in den kleinen Industrieunternehmen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Askenazy, Philippe, Catherine Bloch-London & Muriel Roger (2004): La reduction du temps de travail 1997-2003. Dynamique de constuction des lois "Aubry" et premieres evaluations. In: Economie et Statistique H. 376/377, S. 153-171.

Abstract

"Die Besonderheit der 'Aubry-Gesetze' bestand darin, eine starke Reduzierung der regulären Arbeitszeit auf gesetzlichem Wege und einen Anreiz für die Aushandlung branchen- und unternehmensspezifischer Vereinbarungen in zwei Etappen miteinander zu kombinieren. Bereits im Juni 1998 legte das erste Gesetz eine neue Norm für die gesetzliche Arbeitszeit (ab 1. Januar 2000 für die Unternehmen mit mehr als 20 Beschäftigten und ab 1. Januar 2002 für die anderen) fest und sah Hilfsmaßnahmen als Anreiz für die Unternehmen vor, damit diese die Arbeitszeit vor diesen Stichtagen verkürzten und Arbeitsplätze schufen bzw. erhielten. Die einzelnen Modalitäten der Umsetzung - Überstunden, Arbeitszeit der Führungskräfte, Staffelung, Teilzeitarbeit, gesetzlicher Mindestlohn - sollten durch ein zweites Gesetz geregelt werden, das sich nach dem Inhalt der bei den branchen- und unternehmensspezifischen Tarifverhandlungen zwischenzeitlich getroffenen Vereinbarungen richten sollte. Mithin bot die Methode der 'Aubry-Gesetze' Gewerkschaften und Arbeitgebern die Möglichkeit, mitzuwirken und Einfluss auf Inhalt und Modalitäten des Gesetzes zu nehmen. Das zweite Gesetz bekräftigte zwar die wichtigsten Bestimmungen der Tarifverhandlungen, hob aber die Erfordernisse hinsichtlich der Effektivität der Arbeitszeitverkürzung und des Beschäftigungsvolumens, die mit dem Anreizsystem einhergingen, auf.
Eine kurzfristige Bewertung der 'Aubry-Gesetze' erweist sich als schwierig. Die meisten qualitativen wie auch quantitativen Ex-post-Arbeiten beziehen sich auf die Pionierunternehmen und die ersten Arbeitnehmer, für die im Privatsektor die 35-Stunden-Woche eingeführt wurde. Diese Arbeiten ermöglichen aber eine Reihe von Schlussfolgerungen. Kurzfristig scheinen die 'Aubry-Gesetze' mit der Schaffung von ca. 350 000 Arbeitsplätzen einen gewissen Beschäftigungserfolg aufzuweisen. Den Arbeitgebern bot die Arbeitszeitverkürzung Gelegenheit, Flexibilisierungsmaßnahmen ein-zuführen oder auszuweiten. Für einen Teil der Arbeitnehmer schlugen diese sich auch auf die Arbeitsbedingungen nieder. Denn die quantitativen wie auch qualitativen Studien zeigen, dass die Ungleichheiten bei der Arbeit zugenommen haben: zwischen sozioprofessionellen Gruppen, Status, Alter und zwischen Unternehmen und Branchen.
Diese Feststellungen haben lediglich kurzfristigen Charakter. Eine richtige Bewertung der 'Aubry-Gesetze' kann nur ex post und nach der für bestimmte Aspekte dieser Gesetze vorgesehenen Übergangsfrist erfolgen; die Flexibilisierung der Arbeitszeitverkürzung nach dem 'Fillon-Gesetz' im Jahre 2003 und die etwaigen späteren Änderungen der Normen der Arbeitszeit und der Bedingungen für eine Abgabenentlastung stehen einer langfristigen Evaluierung womöglich aber entgegen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Boisard, Pierre (2004): Working time policy in France. (Centre d'Etudes de l'Emploi. Document de travail 34), Noisy-le-Grande, 18 S.

Abstract

"Working time has always been considered in France to be an area of responsibility for the State. The Acts on the 35-hour working week come therefore from a long tradition of State intervention to regulate employment and working conditions. This particular configuration is not found in other European countries. In this paper is presented the French specificity: a work sharing logic supported by the State. The aim at generating employment through a legal reduction of working time brought the government to draw up an extremely complex set of Acts. These one are not restricted to defining legal work duration; they also advocate reductions in social contributions and give a precise framework to negotiate collective agreements. A synthesis of the consequences of the 35-hour Act shows that the effects on employment are limited (creation of 300,000 jobs), that social relations did not improve and that inequalities among employees were accentuated." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Boisard, Pierre (2004): 35 heures. Les experts font la loi. In: Travail et emploi H. 100, S. 85-98.

Abstract

"By only permitting a small margin for central bargaining, the Aubry's Decrees One and Two (relating to a reduction in work time) have left scant room for social partnership in the formulation of new regulation. By contrast, they have accentuated part played by economical experts. The author will demonstrate that the laws were developed from the conclusions of econometrical simulations (ES) and have minimized the understanding of work conditions and the creation of a minimal consensus. Historically, the first ES, in 1982, were followed by a number of macroeconomic evaluations attempting to estimate the effects on employment. However the microeconomic studies modify the results of the ES and emphasise the need for proper negotiation in order to enforce the target of job sharing. The favouring in 1998 of strictly supervised, decentralized laws and negotiations, as opposed to an interprofessional and national agreement, is certain to weaken this already delicate process." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Bunel, Matthieu (2004): Aides incitatives et determinants des embauches des etablissements passes aux 35 heures. In: Economie et Statistique H. 376/377, S. 91-115.

Abstract

"Die Betriebe, die Ende 2000 die 35-Stunden-Woche eingeführt haben, können in zwei Kategorien eingeteilt werden: Betriebe, die eine Vereinbarung nach der Gesetzen 'Robien' oder 'Aubry 1' unterzeichnet haben und Hilfen als Anreiz zur Arbeitszeitverkürzung erhielten, und Betriebe, die zur 35-Stunden-Woche ohne Gewährung dieser Hilfen, aber bei Inanspruchnahme der im Gesetz 'Aubry 2' vorgesehenen Entlastungen übergegangen sind. Bei der hier vorgeschlagenen Analyse sollen die Determinanten für die Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen in diesen beiden Kategorien von Betrieben, die die Arbeitszeit verkürzt haben, anhand detaillierter Daten aus der Erhebung Passages ermittelt werden, die die DARES (Direktion Forschung, Studien und Statistiken des Ministeriums für Soziales, Arbeit und Solidarität) und das Meinungsforschungsinstitut BVA im Jahre 2001 durchführten. Untersucht werden nacheinander, welche Auswirkungen die Arbeitszeitschwankung, die Entwicklung der Arbeitskosten und die Produktivitätsgewinne haben. Die Ex-post-Bewertung zeigt, dass diese Variablen, die in den prospektiven makroökonomischen Modellen zur Erklärung der Beschäftigungswirksamkeit der Arbeitszeitverkürzung herangezogen werden, einen signifikanten Einfluss auf den Umfang der Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen in allen Betrieben mit 35-Stunden-Woche haben. Bei den Betrieben, die Hilfen als Anreiz erhielten, sind deren Auswirkungen allerdings größer. Laut Erhebung Passages nahm der Personalstand der Betriebe, die Hilfen als Anreiz erhielten, um mehr als 10 % zu gegenüber 4 % bei den anderen. Zur Erklärung dieses Unterschieds wird er in drei Teile zerlegt: beobachtete Modalitäten der Arbeitszeitverkürzung, nicht beobachtete Merkmale der Betriebe und Effekt der Selektion der dynamischsten Betriebe. Der durchschnittliche Unterschied bei der Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen zwischen den Betrieben, die Hilfen als Anreiz erhielten, und den anderen ist fast zur Hälfte auf die Disparitäten bei der Einführung der 35-Stunden-Woche zurückzuführen, insbesondere auf den Umfang der Arbeitszeitschwankung, die Entwicklung der Arbeitskosten und die Produktivitätsgewinne. Mithin ist die Selektion der dynamischsten Betriebe nicht das einzige Element, das die beobachteten Unterschiede bei der Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen erklärt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Bunel, Matthieu (2004): Modulation/annualisation dans le cadre des 35 heures. Entreprises et salariés sous contrainte. In: Travail et emploi H. 98, S. 51-65.

Abstract

"By instauring the 35-hour week, many firms modified their organization of work by setting up annualization and modulation frameworks. However, these changes are expensive in the short term. In order to indentify the French firms organizational choices for the 35-hour week, the PASSAGE datas will be used. In such surroundings, where organizational changes take on strategic value, an annualization /modulation system depends on the fluctuations of the demand, on the cost of planning and bargaining annualization/modulation, as well as on the competitors' organizational choice." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
"Lors de la mise en place des 35 heures, de nombreuses entreprises ont modifie leur organisation en recourant a un accord de modulation/annualisation du temps de travail. Pour les entreprises, ce changement organisationnel est couteux a court terme. Les determinants de leurs choix organisationnels ont pu etre identifies a partir des donnees de l'enquete PASSAGES. Dans un environnement incertain, ou le changement organisationnel revet une importance strategique, la decision de mettre en place un dispositif de modulation/annualisation depend de trois facteurs : la volatilite de la demande, les couts d'instauration et de negociation de l'amenagement du temps de travail, et les choix organisationnels operes par les concurrents." (Resume d'auteur, IAB-Doku) ((fr))

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Cette, Gilbert, Nicolas Dromel & Dominique Meda (2004): Les determinants du jugement des salaries sur la RTT. In: Economie et Statistique H. 376/377, S. 117-151.

Abstract

"Zahlreiche Arbeiten wurden bereits über die wirtschaftlichen Konsequenzen der Politik zur Arbeitszeitverkürzung, insbesondere über die Beschäftigung durchgeführt; aber nur wenige Studien befassten sich bislang mit den Auswirkungen dieser Politiken auf die Arbeits- und Lebensbedingungen der betroffenen Arbeitnehmer. Mehrere Studien bezogen sich auf die Erwartungen der Arbeitnehmer im Hinblick auf die Arbeitszeitverkürzung (Ex-ante-Analysen), aber viel weniger auf deren Wahrnehmung und Beurteilung durch die Arbeitnehmer nach der Durchführung (Ex-post-Analysen). Diese Frage der Faktoren der Zufriedenheit und Unzufriedenheit der Arbeitnehmer mit einer Politik der Arbeitszeitverkürzung, deren Konsequenzen sie direkt erlebten, wird hier anhand der Analyse der Antworten auf die Erhebung Arbeitszeitverkürzung und Lebensweisen vertieft, die 2001 bei einer Stichprobe von Vollzeitbeschäftigten durchgeführt wurde, deren Arbeitszeit im Rahmen einer Vereinbarung nach den Gesetzen 'Rohen' oder 'Aubry 1' seit mindestens einem Jahr verkürzt worden war. Durch die Berücksichtigung einer Vielzahl von Variablen lässt sich der Einfluss einer jeden von ihnen 'bei sonst gleichen Bedingungen' bewerten. Manche Merkmale scheinen immer die Beurteilung der Arbeitszeitverkürzung durch die Arbeitnehmer zu beeinflussen und zur Stärkung der Zufriedenheit beizutragen. So würden die Frauen, die sich um ein Kind unter zwölf Jahren zu kümmern haben, bei sonst gleichen Bedingungen mit der Arbeitszeitverkürzung zufriedener sein als die anderen befragten Arbeitnehmer. Faktoren, die sich signifikant auf die Zufriedenheit auswirken, wären insbesondere die soziale Stellung des Arbeitnehmers (Berufsabschluss, Berufsgruppe und Einkommen des Haushalts), die Transparenz der Arbeitszeit und deren Verbesserung, die Autonomie bei der Arbeitszeitgestaltung, die Tatsache, dass die effektiven Dauer der in der Vereinbarung festgelegten Dauer auch wirklich entspricht, die Auswirkungen der Arbeitszeitverkürzung auf die Entlohnung sowie die Nutzung der zusätzlich verfügbaren Zeit. Letztere dient hauptsächlich dazu, mehr Zeit mit der Familie (Ehepartner und Kindern) zu verbringen, sich auszuruhen oder andere Arbeiten im Haus zu verrichten bzw. Freizeittätigkeiten oder ähnlichen Aktivitäten nachzugehen. Auch die Tatsache, dass der Arbeitnehmer vor der Arbeitszeitverkürzung den Eindruck hatte, über nicht ausreichend Zeit zu verfügen, dass er darüber nachdachte, was er mit der etwaigen zusätzlichen Freizeit nach Einführung der 35-Stunden-Woche anfangen werde, und dass diese Nutzung in der Realität ihren konkreten Niederschlag fand, würde einen Einfluss auf seine Zufriedenheit haben. Umgekehrt würden die schwankenden Arbeitszeiten, die atypischen Arbeitszeiten generell und deren Zunahme, die Anhebung der Arbeitsvorgaben und die ungünstigen Auswirkungen der Arbeitszeitverkürzung auf die Entlohnung diese Zufriedenheit negativ beeinflussen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Crépon, Bruno, Marie Leclair & Sébastien Roux (2004): RTT, productivite et emploi. Nouvelles estimations sur donnees d'entreprises. In: Economie et Statistique H. 376/377, S. 55-89.

Abstract

"Mit den individuellen Unternehmensdaten lassen sich durch einen Vergleich zwischen Unternehmen, die die 35-Stunden-Woche eingeführt haben, und Unternehmen, die bei der 39-Stunden-Woche verblieben sind, a priori die Auswirkungen der Arbeitszeitverkürzung auf die Beschäftigung analysieren. Ein solcher Vergleich muss sich auf Unternehmen beziehen, die ein Höchstmaß an gleichen Merkmalen aufweisen. Hierbei stellen sich aber bestimmte Fragen: Reichen die verfügbaren Informationen über diese Unternehmen aus, um sie miteinander vergleichen zu können, oder gibt es auch nicht gemessene mikroökonomische Merkmale, die beide Gruppen unterscheiden? Sind die Unternehmen gleichermaßen imstande, sich der Arbeitszeitverkürzung anzupassen? Kann schließlich davon ausgegangen werden, dass die Arbeitszeitverkürzung nur auf die Unternehmen, die die 35-Stunden-Woche einführten, Auswirkungen haben, oder hat sie auch indirekte Auswirkungen auf die Unternehmen, die bei der 39-Stunden-Woche verblieben sind? Diese Fragen sind komplex. Sie werden untersucht, indem man zunächst die Konsequenzen der Arbeitszeitverkürzung für die Produktion und die Produktivität analysiert. So hatten bei sonst gleichen Merkmalen die Unternehmen, die die 35-Stunden-Woche im Rahmen des Aubry-I-Gesetzes einführten, zwischen 1997 und 2000 einen leichten Rückgang ihrer globalen Faktorproduktivität, die ihre Produktivitätskapazität bei unverändertem Personalbestand und Kapital widerspiegelt, um 3,7 % im Vergleich zu denjenigen, die Ende 2000 noch 39 Stunden arbeiteten, zu verzeichnen, während die Einführung der 35-Stunden-Woche in diesen Unternehmen die Wochenarbeitszeit um 4 Stunden, das heißt 10,2 % hätte verkürzen müssen. Gleichzeitig hätte die Beschäftigung in diesen Unternehmen um 9,9 % gegenüber den Unternehmen, die bei 39 Stunden verblieben, zugenommen. Die gleichzeitige Prüfung dieser Effekte auf die globale Faktorproduktivität und der Auswirkungen auf die Beschäftigung und die Löhne gibt Aufschluss darüber, bei welchem Szenario die Arbeitszeitverkürzung Arbeitsplätze hätte schaffen können. Die Produktivitätseinbußen wären geringer gewesen als die Effekte der Lohnmäßigung und der Abgabenentlastung. Mithin hätten die Unternehmen, die die Arbeitszeit nach dem Aubry-I-Gesetz verkürzten, mit der 35-Stunden-Woche ihre Produktionsstückkosten reduzieren können. Diese Senkung der Produktionskosten hätte so zu ihrer Beschäftigungsdynamik beigetragen. Bei diesen Entwicklungen scheinen die Mechanismen der Arbeitsteilung nicht ausschlaggebend zu sein." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Fagnani, Jeanne & Marie-Thérèse Letablier (2004): Work and family life balance. The impact of the 35-hour laws in France. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 18, H. 3, S. 551-572. DOI:10.1177/0950017004045550

Abstract

"Is it sufficient to reduce working time to improve the work and family balance? This article attempts to answer this question by analyzing the impact of the French law reducing the working week to 35 hours on the daily life, as perceived by parents with a young child under six years old. Six out of ten respondents reported a positive impact of the reduction on their work/family balance. Their judgment is dependent on the organization of work, whether it is regular and based on standard working hours or irregular schedules. It is also correlated to the negotiation process in the workplace.
Inequalities between workers are revealed: between those employed in sheltered economic sectors and 'family-friendly' companies, and those who have to accept unsocial or flexible hours of work in exchange of a reduction of their working time.The article concludes that the 35-hours law has widened the gap between these two groups of workers irrespective of gender and professional status." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Gubian, Alain, Stephane Jugnot, Frederic Lerais & Vladimir Passeron (2004): Les effect de la RTT sur l'emploi. Des simulations ex ante aux evaluations ex post. In: Economie et Statistique H. 376/377, S. 25-54.

Abstract

"Unter den OECD-Ländern hat Frankreich mit der generellen Arbeitszeitverkürzung einzigartige Erfahrungen gesammelt. Gedacht war diese als Maßnahme zur Schaffung zahlreicher Arbeitsplätze sowohl 1982 bei der Verkürzung der gesetzlichen Arbeitszeit von 40 auf 39 Stunden und der Einführung der 5. Woche bezahlten Urlaubs sowie 1998 und 2000 mit der Verkürzung der gesetzlichen Arbeitszeit auf 35 Stunden. Bei der generellen Verkürzung der Arbeitszeit spielten empirische Evaluierungen eine entscheidende Rolle. So sah das erste 'Aubry-Gesetz' ausdrücklich vor, dass vor Festlegung ihrer endgültigen Rahmenbedingungen durch das zweite 'Aubry-Gesetz' eine Bilanz der Vereinbarungen gezogen wird, die die Unternehmen als Anreiz zur vorzeitigen Verkürzung der gesetzlichen Arbeitszeit treffen konnten. Der wichtigste Unterschied zwischen den Ex-ante-Analysen und den Ex-post-Evaluierungen, die auf Initiative der DARES in jüngster Zeit durchgeführt wurden, betrifft die effektive Reduzierung der Arbeitszeit. Letztendlich war diese geringer, als dies in den Ex-ante-Simulationen errechnet worden war. Die Arbeitszeitverkürzung, bei der man sich um ein ausgewogenes Verhältnis zwischen Verkürzung der Arbeitszeit, Lohnmäßigung, Produktivitätsgewinne und staatlicher Hilfe bemühte, hat - so die Schätzungen - zwischen 1998 und 2005 zu einer raschen Beschäftigungszunahme um fast 350 000 Arbeitsplätze geführt, und dies ohne - so scheint es - die Finanzen der Unternehmen nennenswert zu destabilisieren." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Lippert, Inge & Alexander Wegener (2004): Familie und Arbeitswelt. Rahmenbedingungen und Unternehmensstrategien in Großbritannien, Frankreich und Dänemark. Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse aus einem Studienauftrag der Bertelsmann Stiftung im Rahmen der "Allianz für die Familie". Bielefeld, 6 S.

Abstract

Die Studie im Rahmen des Kooperationsprojekts 'Balance von Familie und Arbeitswelt' der Bertelsmann Stiftung und des Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend hatte zum Ziel, in Ländern, die eine Vorreiterrolle in der Familienpolitik innehaben, betriebliche Lösungen der Balance von Familie und Arbeitswelt zu identifizieren. Untersucht wurden elf Unternehmen in Frankreich, Dänemark und Großbritannien aus unterschiedlichen Branchen (Handel, produzierendes Gewerbe, Banken und Versicherungen, Telekommunikation) unterschiedlicher Größenordnung. Die als Good Practices herausgestellten betrieblichen Lösungsansätze betreffen die Bereiche Arbeitszeitgestaltung, Kinderbetreuung, Dienstleistungen für Familien sowie Personalentwicklung und Chancengleichheit. Die betrieblichen Lösungsansätze sind in ihren jeweiligen nationalen Kontext eingebettet, auch wenn teilweise die Angebote der Unternehmen weit über staatliche Mindestnormen hinausgehen. Als beispielhaft wird die Flexibilisierung und Individualisierung von Arbeitszeiten auch im produzierenden Gewerbe in Großbritannien angeführt. Als wichtiger Beitrag zur Personalentwicklung dienen Angebote für den Übergang vom Mutterschutz zurück in das Arbeitsleben beispielsweise bei der Royal Bank of Scotland. Die Übernahme alltäglicher Dienstleistungen durch Conciergedienste fördert in Frankreich die Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie. In Dänemark steht weniger Familienpolitik im Fokus als vielmehr ein breiter Ansatz der Chancengleichheit der Geschlechter. (IAB)

Abstract

"Der fast 4ward Europa-Report zeigt: Schwedische Väter im bezahlten Elternurlaub, weibliche Erwerbstätigkeit in Frankreich, Teilzeit in den Niederlanden sind selbstverständlicher Alltag. Mit der Umwandlung des Erziehungsurlaubs in Elternzeit im Jahr 2001 besitzt Deutschland eine der fortschrittlichsten Gesetzgebungen für Eltern Europas. Trotzdem weist Deutschland einen deutlichen Rückstand bei der Integration von Eltern in den Arbeitsmarkt auf. Die Konsequenzen werden sichtbar in der seit Jahren rückläufigen Geburtenquote, Tendenz weiter fallend, obwohl deutsche Frauen im statistischen Mittel ihre Kinder früher bekommen als ihre europäischen Nachbarinnen. In welcher Weise Frauen und Männer in Ländern wie Frankreich, den Niederlanden oder Schweden Beruf und Familie vereinbaren und welche zentralen Vorgaben und Rahmenbedingungen von der Politik gesetzt werden, sind Fragen, die im Mittelpunkt des fast 4ward Europa-Reports stehen. Analysiert und gegenübergestellt werden Gesetze und Regelungen europäischer Länder, die eine höhere Geburtenrate als Deutschland aufweisen und bei der Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie als vorbildlich gelten. Außerdem bieten Interviews mit Frauen der jeweiligen Länder eine subjektive Momentaufnahme vom Leben und Arbeiten mit Kindern im Nachbarland. Der Europa-Report soll Anhaltspunkte und Handlungsoptionen aufzeigen, wie Deutschland die Balance zwischen Arbeits- und Privatleben - insbesondere bei der Integration von Müttern in das Erwerbsleben - stärken und fördern kann." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Cette, Gilbert & Pavel Diev (2003): L'impact de la reduction du temps de travail. In: Futuribles H. 285, S. 59-66.

Abstract

"Gilbert Cette et Pavel Diev proposent ici une breve revue des differentes etudes qui se sont penchees sur l'impact de la reduction du temps de travail (RTT) sur les emplois du temps des Francais, et nous en donnent les principales conclusions. Globalement, il ressort de ces analyses que le temps libere par la RTT est redeploye sur les activites habituellement pratiquees par les individus hors temps de travail, suivant les memes caracteristiques liees au sexe, au revenu, au fait d'avoir ou non des enfants... Ainsi, les femmes l'emploient plus souvent que les hommes pour des activites domestiques et de soin, et les hommes davantage que les femmes pour jardiner et bricoler. Le fait d'avoir des enfants amenerait les salaries a effectuer davantage d'activites domestiques et/ou de loisirs. Le niveau de diplome serait determinant pour une utilisation de ce temps libere pour des activites plutot de loisirs ou sociales, que domestiques. Les auteurs fournissent enfin un certain nombre de precisions interessantes sur les variables susceptibles d'influencer I'affectation de ce temps libre supplementaire qu'a procure la RTT aux salaries qui en ont beneficie (age, situation de famille, revenu, anciennete dans l'entreprise, temps de transport, modalites de la RTT)." (resume d'auteur, IAB-Doku) ((fr))

Zitatform

Ettighoffer, Denis & Gerard Blanc (2003): Du mal travailler au mal vivre. Paris: Eyrolles, 424 S.

Abstract

"Du mal travailler au mal vivre, il n'y a qu'un pas. Temps de travail, de repos ou temps personnel, nos rythmes de vie s'emballent. Afin de nous soigner, voici pour commencer un diagnostic puis des suggestions pour faire autrement.
Tout, tout de suite. Une frénésie paranoïaque serait-elle en train de nous emplir? Qu'est-ce qui nous pousse si souvent à abandonner la moindre règle de savoir-vivre ensemble? Pourquoi aujourd'hui dire ' plus tard ', ' pouvez-vous attendre une minute s'il vous plaît ' peut-il être considéré comme intolérable? Cette course après le temps nous questionne. Un temps surencombré de tâches mineures ou importantes qui sont autant d'occasions de zapper de l'une à l'autre, émiettant nos journées de travail, déréglant nos temps personnels." (Resume d'auteur, IAB-Doku) ((fr))
Sommaire:
Partie 1 - Vite
Mauvais temps !
Sur la défensive
Névrosés
Partie 2 - S.O.S.
E-travailleurs sous influence
À votre bonne santé !
Partie 3 - Du mieux travailler au mieux vivre
Face au syndrome de Chronos
Votre temps n'a pas de prix
Conclusion