ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on workplace work-family arrangements, i.e., measures supporting
working parents developed by employers, such as flexible working hours, child-care
support, and leave arrangements. A cross-national comparison is made between
employers in the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. So far, most
research on work-family arrangements in organizations has been done in Anglo-Saxon
countries such as the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom (e.g., den Dulk,
2001; OECD, 2001). These are countries in which working parents are encouraged to rely
on their own resources for combining work and family life, and government intervention
is minimal. Europe, however, is characterized by countries with different welfare state
regimes, and the question can be raised how these different institutional contexts
influence the adoption of work-family arrangements by employers.