Study on good practices on reconciliation of work, family and private life in EU member states : good practices.
Date: 2015-02-06
Institutions: European Institute for Gender Equality
Subjects: flexible working hours, gender equality, public awareness campaign, working conditions, working environment

Study on good practices 
on reconciliation of work, family and private life 
in EU member states

GOOD PRACTICES

Three  thematic  focus  areas  have  been  selected  for  the 
collection of good practices in the field of reconciliation 
of work, family and private life in EU Member States:

awareness-raising; 
self-regulation; 
benchmarking.

AWARENESS-RAISING
Awareness  raising  initiatives  represent  one  of  the  most 
 widely used practices to promote gender equality and the 
involvement of men in it. Awareness-raising campaigns are 
recognised as being among the most efficient and  effective 
means  of  communicating  information,  especially  to  the 

 general  public.They  help  changing  attitudes,  behaviours 
and beliefs and inform employees, employers and decision-
makers  about  the  importance  and  the  advantages  of  the 
reconciliation of work, family and private life.

EXA M PLES OF GO OD PR AC T IC E S I N AWAREN ESS- R AISING

Example 1:  
Four Walls, Four Hands Campaign – 
Austria (City of Vienna Women’s Depart-
ment 2012-2013)

An  innovative  well-targeted  campaign  based  on  electronic  and 
social  media  with  a  focus  on  equal  distribution  of  domestic  work.  It 
has  learning  and  transferability  potential  particularly  the  developed 
electronic application.

Example 2: 
Occupation Dad – I like it! – Poland  
(Ministry of Labour and Social Policy,  
supported by ESF, 2012-2013)

A  nationwide  campaign  targeting  SMEs  which  demonstrates  that 
reconciliation  initiatives  are  not  only  possible  in  large-scale  work 
settings.  Supported  by  a  diversified  network  of  stakeholders,  it  was 
focussing on active fatherhood and promo ting a more equal sharing 
of care responsibilities.

SELF-REGULATION
The  employer-based  (public  and  private  organisations)  self- 
regulation  measures  provide  good  examples  of  practices  on 
reconciliation. They  include:  employer  policies  and  initiatives 
designed to promote women’s participation in the workforce 
and  to  retain  working  parents;  innovative  forms  of  work 

organisation  linked  to  reconciliation  measures  and  flexible 
working  time;  gender  equality  oriented  employer  initiatives 
in  care;  company-level 
to  promote  men’s 
agreements and negotiated arrangements between workers and 
their managers to facilitate the work/care responsibilities of workers.

involvement 

EXA M PL ES OF GOO D PR AC T IC E S I N S EL F- REGUL ATION

Example 1:  
Parental Leave Company Workshops – 
Austria 
(abz Austria) 

The workshops were implemented in Austria in 2011-2012 to promote 
men’s use of parental leave and support mothers’ careers. It presents 
an interesting example of policy aimed at changing company culture 
regarding paternal leave and men’s involvement. Specifically targeted 
to SMEs, the measure involved social partners and other stakeholders.

Example 2: 
24h Service Childcare – Denmark 
(Aalborg Hospital, municipality of Aalborg)

Put  in  place  in  1994,  itprovides  an  example  of  a  sustainable  and  ef-
fective initiative providing evening and weekend childcare to support 
working parents. It allows mothers and fathers to work flexibly which is 
particularly important in the context of an increasing 24-hour society.

BENCHMARKING
Benchmarking  is  carried  out  in  order  to  identify  standards 
or good practices which can be applied in measuring and 
improving  performance.  The  initiatives  vary:  competition 
between  companies  for  related  awards;  certification  in 
relation  to  gender  equality  and  family  friendly  measures 

(equal  mark  certificates);  sustainability  index  to  evaluate, 
rank and improve the performance of enterprises including 
gender  equality  and  work-family  balance  criteria;  gender 
audits;  annual  contests  and  awards 
recognise 
outstanding practice in equality and diversity work.

that 

EXA M PLES OF GO OD PR AC T IC E S I N B ENCHMARKI NG

Example 1:  
Family Audit Certification – Italy 
(Autonomous Province of Trento)

A regional project on certification of company Family Audits, opera-
ting nationally as a pilotsince 2012. A 4-year long certification proce-
dure leads to the adoption of Work-Life Balance Plans by companies 
which aim at improving the reconciliation practices.

Example 2: 
The Most Family and Employee Friendly 
Company Contest – Estonia 
(Newspaper Äripaev, magazine Pere jaKodu 
and the Ministry of Social Affairs)

An  ongoing  yearly  contest  held  since  2001  to  assess  the  family 
friendliness  of  companies  via  two  surveys  among  employees  and 
among company management.

ABOUT THE STUDY

The European Institute for Gender Equality – EIGE commissioned the study ‘Collection of good practices on reconciliation of work, 
family and private life in EU Member States’ in order to identify, collect and select the most promising examples of initiatives that 
promote reconciliation. The study was carried out by ÖSB Consulting GmbHand supported by a network of country experts in the 28 
Member States. Further information related to the study is available at: http://eige.europa.eu/good-practices

http://eige.europa.eu

ISBN 978-92-9218-532-9
doi:10.2839/96226

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© European Institute for Gender Equality, 2014