ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on work-family reconciliation in light of qualitative data compiled for an EU-funded international research project. Then, it focuses on a three-country comparison based on case studies carried out in a number of social services offices in Norway, the UK and Portugal. As work-family reconciliation became a popular theme on the EU policy agenda, the European Commission funded several cross-national research projects that aim to assess policy implications and practices in different local contexts. One such project funded by the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Commission was entitled: "Gender, Parenthood and the Changing European Workplace: Young Adults Negotitating the Work-Family Boundary". In the Norwegian social services, flexitime means that employees are entitled to flexible working hours within certain regulations. Norwegian parents have high expectations directed at the welfare state and especially demand improvements in the field of childcare since the supply of day-care services for the youngest children does not meet the demand.
