ABSTRACT
This book deals with contemporary HRM issues in Europe. Flexible working has been a central concern for employers, employees and for policy makers in many European countries in the past few decades. Over this time the European Union has developed a series of policies on workplace flexibility, designed to both assist organizations in member states to achieve greater flexibility and to help individuals balance the work and non-work aspects of their lives more effectively. This chapter aims to examine flexibility across Europe, including both that which is designed to assist organizations and that which supports employees. The objectives of this chapter are to:
provide an introduction to the different forms of flexible working practices and the reasons for their use;
provide an overview of the context in which flexible working has increased in recent years;
examine the different approaches to flexible working used across European countries;
propose areas for future investigation.
