European Union Moves on Work/Life Balance
The European Union can be an unwieldy and bureaucratic machine, but it's hard to deny that its heart (if it has one) is in the right place.
European Union Commission seeks right balance of life and work
European Union Commission seeks right balance of life and work
Commission seeks right balance of life and workOther countries (and corporations) take note.
More needs to be done to achieve a better balance between private and professional life, in particular for women, argues the Commission. Social partners have been asked to comment.
As greater job mobility, careers with numerous different employers, and more flexible working times become a reality, the question also becomes more pressing how working time, which tends to be more fragmented, can be reconciled with family and private lives, with being socially active, and leading a lifestyle that is not detrimental to health. This need occurs even stronger for women, who typically do much more unpaid and unsecured work in the household, are more likely to work on a part-time basis, take longer baby breaks, etc.
4 Comments:
Silly Coyote,
Bureaucracies and states do not have hearts. People do. It is the hearts of people that need to change.
I did write: "if . . ."
You are right, of course, but aren't states and bureaucracies supposed to be run by people, whom we elect?
Well, even IF laws were passed because a majority of people thought they were a good idea (not something I would concede, nor, I imagine, would you), I still don't see laws as much more than a band aid to the underlying problem. It's easy for people to vote for something, and therefore it is also easy for them to vote against it later. Not a very stable or long term solution.
But convince people to INSIST on a work life balance, to try to ensure it for the people who work for them or with them, and to not tolerate the short-sighted shenanagins currently in vogue, THEN you will have something that can last.
Too often people give up on the long term goal of convincing society in general to strive for the right ideals and instead take the short cut of trying to gather enough votes at a particular time and place. Gains from such actions are almost always either non-existant, quickly lost, perverted or revoked. I'd hate to see you take your eyes off the long term!
You are right, John. Passing laws is not the answer. The only real solution is to change hearts and minds, which is what I try to do here, in my own, very small way.
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