Six Flexibility or flexploitation? Problems with work–life balance in a low-income neighbourhood
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Hartley Dean
Abstract
‘Work-life balance’ is a contested notion, involving conflicting interpretations of ‘flexibility’ in relation to employment and family commitments. It may be justified on the basis of social care, a business case or the contemporary public policy compromise. In practice however, people’s capacity as employee and family members to achieve the kind of flexibility they want rests on their bargaining power. This chapter draws on findings from a small-scale qualitative investigation of work-life balance in low income neighbourhoods in the UK. It discusses different perspectives on the relationship between the worlds of paid employment and family life; the social welfare perspective, the liberal/business perspective and the ‘Third Way’ public policy perspective. It also discusses bargaining power in relation to employer practices, income maintenance and childcare arrangements. The chapter ends by integrating the analysis of various perspectives on work-life balance with the experiences of households, most of whom were identified as having very limited bargaining power.
Abstract
‘Work-life balance’ is a contested notion, involving conflicting interpretations of ‘flexibility’ in relation to employment and family commitments. It may be justified on the basis of social care, a business case or the contemporary public policy compromise. In practice however, people’s capacity as employee and family members to achieve the kind of flexibility they want rests on their bargaining power. This chapter draws on findings from a small-scale qualitative investigation of work-life balance in low income neighbourhoods in the UK. It discusses different perspectives on the relationship between the worlds of paid employment and family life; the social welfare perspective, the liberal/business perspective and the ‘Third Way’ public policy perspective. It also discusses bargaining power in relation to employer practices, income maintenance and childcare arrangements. The chapter ends by integrating the analysis of various perspectives on work-life balance with the experiences of households, most of whom were identified as having very limited bargaining power.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and boxes v
- List of abbreviations vi
- Notes on contributors viii
- Introduction 1
-
Current developments
- A year of transition in post-compulsory education and training 11
- Planning for infrastructure and housing – is sustainable development a dream? 35
- Towards a new pension settlement? Recent pension reform in the UK 51
- Climate change and climate change policy in the UK 2006–07 69
- Policy for older people in Wales 93
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Current debates
- Flexibility or flexploitation? Problems with work–life balance in a low-income neighbourhood 113
- The role of confidence and identity in civic participation: exploring ethnic group differences 133
- The problem of riches: is philanthropy a solution or part of the problem? 151
- Policy from the pitch? Soccer and young refugee women in a shifting policy climate 173
- Social citizenship in post-liberal Britain and post-corporatist Germany: curtailed, fragmented, streamlined, but still on the agenda 191
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Engendering policy and politics
- Gender and New Labour: after the male breadwinner model? 215
- A review of engendering policy in the EU 241
- Forming Australian families: gender ideologies and policy settings 263
- Working fathers as providers and carers: towards a new conceptualisation of fatherhood 279
- Index 297
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and boxes v
- List of abbreviations vi
- Notes on contributors viii
- Introduction 1
-
Current developments
- A year of transition in post-compulsory education and training 11
- Planning for infrastructure and housing – is sustainable development a dream? 35
- Towards a new pension settlement? Recent pension reform in the UK 51
- Climate change and climate change policy in the UK 2006–07 69
- Policy for older people in Wales 93
-
Current debates
- Flexibility or flexploitation? Problems with work–life balance in a low-income neighbourhood 113
- The role of confidence and identity in civic participation: exploring ethnic group differences 133
- The problem of riches: is philanthropy a solution or part of the problem? 151
- Policy from the pitch? Soccer and young refugee women in a shifting policy climate 173
- Social citizenship in post-liberal Britain and post-corporatist Germany: curtailed, fragmented, streamlined, but still on the agenda 191
-
Engendering policy and politics
- Gender and New Labour: after the male breadwinner model? 215
- A review of engendering policy in the EU 241
- Forming Australian families: gender ideologies and policy settings 263
- Working fathers as providers and carers: towards a new conceptualisation of fatherhood 279
- Index 297
