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.