Leave policies in Europe: current policies, future directions

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 429-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Moss ◽  
Fred Deven

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the development of leave policies in Europe, both at a regional and national level, and to consider what future directions such policies might take to meet changing conditions and emerging needs. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on the work of an international network that the authors founded in 2004, which brings together experts on leave policy from over 40 countries, and in particular on an annual review of national leave policies conducted by network members. Findings The article presents developments in European legislation on leave policy stretching from 1883 to the present day, and outlines the extent of leave policies in European countries and the wide variations in the design of these policies. It suggests that future directions in leave policy need to address the relationship between this and other policy areas; the need for a life course perspective to leave policy, getting beyond parental leave; and that leave should turn away from being considered an employment benefit towards becoming a universal right to care. Originality/value The paper provides a concise overview of leave policy in the global region where leave policies began and are today most developed, at both a regional and national level. It is also intended to stimulate debate about the future directions that leave policy might take.

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 145-153
Author(s):  
Brandy Snyder

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to synthesize findings on the effects of existing paid parental leave programs on infant mortality rates (IMR) in the USA as an attempt to aid in efforts for the development of a national paid parental leave policy. Design/methodology/approach Three articles were reviewed to analyze findings on the effects of existing parental leave programs on IMR in the USA. Findings The results from the three studies analyzed indicate that unpaid parental leave and parental leave with partial wage replacement can reduce IMR in households with college educated, working mothers. Research limitations/implications This review is limited due to only having three studies available to synthesize that pertained to the USA. Implications for future research are to examine the effects of fully paid parental leave programs offered by individual organizations on IMR in the USA. Social implications Providing a needs-based income replacement policy to mothers who wish to take parental leave after the birth of a child may be the best policy to decrease IMR for infants from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Originality/value The findings in this review will aid in the ongoing efforts to develop a national paid parental leave policy in the USA.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 210-220
Author(s):  
Steve O'Connor

Purpose – Libraries face a “selling” job on the relationship between print and digital as the mode of delivery for content. Too often it is limply said that “everything is on the web” when we know that it is not or that licensed access to the content is not always available. The Lyon’s Declaration promotes freedom of access to information, yet libraries live and work with this paradox. How will the ambitions of the Lyon Declaration be met? So while it is ironic that everything is said to be on the web while it is not, we have powerful evidence of their dynamic purpose and value. This conference series has dealt with this confronting riddle, evolving and refining, but not quite finding the defining moment. The purpose of this paper is to explore the many interfaces here. By understanding this paradox of print and digital we should see the future of the repositories and libraries more clearly and position them more exactly. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the rich divergence of responses to the use and development of repositories and proposes future directions. It is an experiential paper as well as one guided by future planning perspectives. Findings – There is a need for a reconceptualisation of the role of print repositories blending in digital solutions together with the more traditional solutions. There is also a strong need for repositories to collaborate internationally in order to be able to render their own work and collections valid and effective in a much wider context. Originality/value – This paper is a series of observations and lessons. It is an extension of practical and managerial work in developing and managing repositories and their collections both in Australia and in Hong Kong. It is a collection views designed to stimulate and potentially guide library practitioners who are thinking and working in this area.


Author(s):  
Ann-Zofie Koslowski ◽  
Peter Duvander

This chapter investigates the recent developments and current issues around parental leave such as multiple rationales for leave, policy designs, the politics of flexibility and choice, eligibility (employment related entitlement or social right?), adapting policies to increasing diversity in employment and household type. In addition, it covers topics such as the relationship between parental leave, workplace and other policy areas, future directions for politics and policy for parental leave.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 515-526
Author(s):  
Bila Sorj ◽  
Alexandre Fraga

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between leave policies and social inequalities. It seeks to analyze the historical course of maternity and paternity leave legislation in Brazil, and also provides quantitative evidence that access to leave is impacted by social stratification, revealing different inequalities. Design/methodology/approach To investigate access to leave policies, this study uses data from the Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios Contínua Anual de 2017 (Annual National Continuous Household Sampling Survey of 2017), conducted by IBGE/Brazil. Findings The results point out the existence of inequalities in the conceptions of leave policies in Brazil, and lead to quantitative confirmation that access to leave is stratified and permeated by inequalities of gender, class, race and age. Social implications By pointing out the social inequalities resulting from the contributory scheme of maternity and paternity leave, the results of this paper may generate debate on the transformation of leave into a universal right of citizens and impact public policy agenda in the future. Originality/value This is the first Brazilian study to analyze the relationship between leave policy and social inequality through quantitative data, showing the existence of social stratification of gender, class, race and age concerning the employed population’s access to maternity and paternity leave.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepa Mishra ◽  
Zongwei Luo ◽  
Shan Jiang ◽  
Thanos Papadopoulos ◽  
Rameshwar Dubey

Purpose The purpose of paper is twofold. First, it provides a consolidated overview of the existing literature on “big data” and second, it presents the current trends and opens up various future directions for researchers who wish to explore and contribute in this rapidly evolving field. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the objective of this study, the bibliographic and network techniques of citation and co-citation analysis was adopted. This analysis involved an assessment of 57 articles published over a period of five years (2011-2015) in ten selected journals. Findings The findings reveal that the number of articles devoted to the study of “big data” has increased rapidly in recent years. Moreover, the study identifies some of the most influential articles of this area. Finally, the paper highlights the new trends and discusses the challenges associated with big data. Research limitations/implications This study focusses only on big data concepts, trends, and challenges and excludes research on its analytics. Thus, researchers may explore and extend this area of research. Originality/value To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first study to review the literature on big data by using citation and co-citation analysis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aristides Isidoro Ferreira ◽  
Joana Diniz Esteves

Purpose – Activities such as making personal phone calls, surfing on the internet, booking personal appointments or chatting with colleagues may or may not deviate attentions from work. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to examine gender differences and motivations behind personal activities employees do at work, as well as individuals’ perception of the time they spend doing these activities. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained from 35 individuals (M age=37.06 years; SD=7.80) from a Portuguese information technology company through an ethnographic method including a five-day non-participant direct observation (n=175 observations) and a questionnaire with open-ended questions. Findings – Results revealed that during a five-working-day period of eight hours per day, individuals spent around 58 minutes doing personal activities. During this time, individuals engaged mainly in socializing through conversation, internet use, smoking and taking coffee breaks. Results revealed that employees did not perceive the time they spent on non-work realted activities accurately, as the values of these perceptions were lower than the actual time. Moreover, through HLM, the findings showed that the time spent on conversation and internet use was moderated by the relationship between gender and the leisure vs home-related motivations associated with each personal activity developed at work. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature on human resource management because it reveals how employees often perceive the time they spend on non-work related activities performed at work inaccurately. This study highlights the importance of including individual motivations when studying gender differences and personal activities performed at work. The current research discusses implications for practitioners and outlines suggestions for future studies.


IMP Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 512-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luitzen De Boer ◽  
Poul Houman Andersen

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to contribute to further advancing of IMP as a research field by setting up and starting a theoretical conversation between system theory and the IMP. Design/methodology/approach The approach is based on a narrative literature study and conceptual research. Findings The authors find that system theory and cybernetics can be regarded as important sources of inspiration for early IMP research. The authors identify three specific theoretical “puzzles” in system theory that may serve as useful topics for discussion between system theorists and IMP researchers. Originality/value Only a handful of papers have touched upon the relationship between system theory and IMP before. This paper combines a narrative, historical analysis of this relationship with developing specific suggestions for using system theory as a vehicle for further advancement of IMP research.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 368-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidija Breznik ◽  
Robert D. Hisrich

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the relationship between dynamic capabilities and innovation capabilities. It links dynamic capability with innovation capability and indicates the ways they can be related. Design/methodology/approach – The relationships between dynamic and innovation capability were investigated through a systematic literature review. Findings – The review indicates that common characteristics exist between of the both fields, which demonstrate six relationships. Additionally, findings show some inconsistencies and even contradictions. Originality/value – In this paper, the authors have compared dynamic capabilities, a relatively new approach in the field of strategic management, with innovation capabilities, a widely recognised crucial domain for sustained competitiveness. Since both areas address issues that are essential to today's environment, future research should seek to clarify both concepts, by undertaking some new research and developing comprehensive and unambiguous framework.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1080-1097
Author(s):  
Annemiek Stoopendaal

Purpose – Dichotomous “gap” thinking about professionals and managers has important limits. The purpose of this paper is to study the specific ontology of “the gap” in which different forms of distances are defined. Design/methodology/approach – In order to deepen the knowledge of the actual day-to-day tasks of Dutch healthcare executives an ethnographic study of the daily work of Dutch healthcare executives and an ontological exploration of the concept “gap” was provided. The study empirically investigates the meaning given to the concept of “distance” in healthcare governance practices. Findings – The study reveals that healthcare executives have to fulfil a dual role of maintaining distance and creating proximity. Coping with different forms of distances seems to be an integral part of their work. They make use of four potential mechanisms to cope with distance in their healthcare organization practices. Originality/value – The relationship between managers and professionals is often defined as a dichotomous gap. The findings in this research suggest a more dynamic picture of the relationship between managers and professionals than is currently present in literature. This study moves “beyond” the gap and investigates processes of distancing in-depth.


2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 1178-1193
Author(s):  
Tony Burns

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Amartya Sen’s notion of adaptation and his views on identity politics by focussing on the issue of slavery and, more specifically, on the example of the happy or contented slave. Design/methodology/approach The paper is text based. The methodological approach adopted is that of conceptual analysis, as is typical for work of this kind. Findings The paper concludes that the example of the happy or contented slave is indeed a fruitful one for those interested in exploring the relationship between Sen’s views on “the adaptation problem” and his views on identity politics, especially in relation to the subjection of women. Here Sen’s debt to the ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill is particularly important. Research limitations/implications One implication of the argument of the paper is that there is a need to consider more carefully the differences that exist between the views of Wollstonecraft and Mill, so far as the example of the happy or contented slave is concerned. Practical implications One practical implication of the paper is that, hopefully, it establishes the continued relevance of the ideas of thinkers such as Wollstonecraft and Mill today, not least because of the influence that they have had on theoreticians such as Amartya Sen. Social implications The paper addresses issues which are of considerable social and political significance, especially for women in underdeveloped societies today. Originality/value The example of the happy or contented slave has not received much discussion in the literature on Sen, although Sen himself has suggested that the distinction between happiness and contentment is an important one, which does merit further discussion.


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