1. Introduction

Improving Work-Life Balance - What Are Other Countries Doing?

Research studies and media reports indicate that work-life conflict is an increasing problem for Canadians. But Canadians are not alone in facing this issue. This report provides an overview of how other industrial countries are addressing the business, health and social costs of work-life conflict, with the aim of showing how innovative initiatives can be developed to suit the work-life balance needs of employees and the business demands of employers.

What is work-life conflict? Work-life conflict occurs when the cumulative demands of work and non-work life roles are incompatible in some respect so that participation in one role is made more difficult by participation in the other role.¹ A particularly important element of work-life conflict is work-related stress. Working conditions such as heavy workloads, lack of participation in decision-making, health and safety hazards, job insecurity, and tight deadlines are associated with work-related stress.

How significant is the problem? Work-life conflict erodes the mental and physical well-being of workers, affects the quality of their personal relationships outside of work, and increases costs to businesses. Employees with high levels of work-life conflict are more likely to experience poor health. Work-life conflict has negative impacts on employees' relationships with their children and their spouse.² Work-life conflict also has consequences for an organization's bottom line. Employees experiencing high levels of work-life conflict are likely to miss more work days per year, are less committed to the organization, are less satisfied with their job, and are more likely to intend to leave their job.³

While individual coping mechanisms, such as the use of Employee Assistance Programs, may help some people feel less stressed and overwhelmed, it is increasingly recognized that work-life conflict needs to be dealt with at one of the sources of the problem - at the workplace level. Workplace programs, policies, legislation and other initiatives can provide workers with the support and security they need to balance work with other interests and life responsibilities.

Other countries are also concerned with the negative effects that work-life conflict has on productivity, employees' well-being and employees' capacity to provide care for children and others. This report first reviews survey results and other data to give an indication of the degree to which work-life conflict is a concern in the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (U.K.), Australia and the United States (U.S.). Then, the main portion of this report highlights recent initiatives of various national governments.

These initiatives reflect three different approaches, depending on whether a government: (1) actively endorses work-life balance as an explicit policy goal by generally relying on promotional activities and voluntary compliance; (2) develops a broad range of legislative and other measures to support the same goals without promoting work-life balance to the same degree; or (3) adopts individual pieces of legislation or policies that address some aspects of work-life balance.

First, this report discusses targeted promotion of work-life balance through the implementation of national programs and policies. The governments of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia have strategically implemented promotional programs that are publicly endorsed by government leaders. These governments are promoting the business and health benefits of work-life balance and have developed programs, policies, legislation and resources to address the needs of workers, to improve productivity, and to reduce the business costs associated with work-life conflict.

Second, this report examines the approach of governments helping employees balance paid work with unpaid work through a broad range of measures. The Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden have put in place legislation and have developed initiatives aimed at improving workers' ability to balance work with other responsibilities including caregiving. Active support for gender equality in paid and unpaid work is emphasized in many of these initiatives.

Finally, this report considers government support for work-life balance through the implementation of an individual policy or isolated piece of legislation. France's legislation to reduce working time and Belgium's system of time credits are examples of ways that governments can support work-life balance. Ireland's introduction of a "Work Life Balance Day" and the U.S. resolution to proclaim "National Work and Family Month" illustrate efforts to put work-life balance on government policy agendas and could be seen as one way to improve an employee's balance between work and other responsibilities.

This report looks at government initiatives only. In Canada and other industrial countries, employers and unions play a key role in developing policies and programs to improve work-life balance. Employers are increasingly adopting policies and practices to assist their employees in reducing work-life conflict. Through collective bargaining, unions promote provisions that support employees' work-life balance. However, the role of employers and the role of industrial relations in the support of work-life balance are beyond the scope of this paper.⁴ In addition, broader social and economic policies that affect work-life balance, such as government support for childcare and child-related tax credits are not included in this report but may be considered in future research on this issue.

---

¹ Linda Duxbury and Chris Higgins, Work-Life Balance in the New Millennium: Where Are We? Where Do We Need to Go? CPRN Discussion Paper (Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Network, 2001), p. 3. return
² Ibid., p. 45. return
³ Ibid., p. 42. return
⁴ A discussion of the role of Australia's industrial relations system is the sole exception. Beyond minimum provisions, Australia does not have legislation in place to support work-life balance. The role of industrial bargaining in providing support for work-life balance has been very important in Australia and therefore merits inclusion. return