Time for work & private lifeDutch emancipation policy

Flexible working hours, longer opening hours and good facilities for combining work with care

Bolzano Time Conference – october 12, 2007

Dutch society still based on the traditional breadwinner principle

Emancipation policy 2007 - 2011

74% of all women have paid work by 2016

This will be achieved by the following:• Work must be rewarding - personally and financially• Affordable childcare with a high standard of quality • Non-transferable parental leave rights for women and

men• Flexible working and opening hours• Market for domestic services

More opportunities to combine work & private life

‘seven-to-seven culture’ (instead of ‘nine-to-five’)• Longer (or smarter) opening hours: more flexibility at

the start and end of the day• Flexible working hours• Working remotely• On-line services

Other purposes

• 74% women on the labour market in 2016, but also• Making it easier to combine work and care• Improving quality of life • Preservation of services in the countryside• Reducing traffic congestion

Shift of focus

the focus is shifted from individual rights to institutional change, and

along with institutional change cultural changes are needed

Governmental strategy

1. Project ESF3 Daily routine: local innovative experiments (now: experimentation → implementation)

2. Agreements with local government: group of fore-runners

3. Installation of the “Taskforce Part-time Plus” to promote cultural change

(1) Project ESF3 Daily Routine

• EU ESF-3 programme 2002-2007• 24 mln euro, 100% subsidies (no co-financing• 174 experiments run by municipalities, local welfare

organisations, companies• Solutions that anticipate changing living patterns in the

Netherlands

Daily Routine ProjectFields of experimentation

• Extended opening hours which are tailored to working hours

• Flexible working hours• Entrepreneurship in care and practical domestic services• Town planning encouraging work-life balance

Examples (I)

• Survey of local inhabitans about opening hours as a basis for agreements between local authority and local partners about smarter opening hours

• Installation company with more flexible working hours = better possibilities to combine work and care and longer

opening hours • Service in health care: reducing waiting time,

combination of services, longer opening hours

Examples (II)

• Informal care worker agent = practical support to working carers by taking responsibility for a variety of tasks

• Daytime arrangements, preservation and customisation of services in the countryside

• Flexible childcare (at home)• Service center for employers and employees 7

to 7 on business parks

(2) Agreements with local authorities

• Local authorities that act like a catalyst for change: flexible time arrangements (working hours, opening hours, on-line services)

• Special position for the ‘Group of fore-runners’ on local timepolicy

• 3 roles for the local autorities: as an employer, service organisation and policymaker

What do the fore-runners get?

• Commitment from the national government• Profile of a fore-runner in national and regional media• A small financial contribution for achieving their targets • Fleximeter: instrument that gives an indication of the

local situation + advice from a consultant• Acces to a special troubleshooter for breaking through

barriers at national level

Fleximeter Are facilities or services in various domains available outside standard office hours (9 to 5)?

• A questionnaire that allows municipalities to check to what extent they are '7 to 7' proof

• After a municipality has filled in the Fleximeter, it receives a score card with results on each of the seven domains (traffic light model: red, orange and green)

• For those domains with an orange or a red score, innovative solutions and examples of good practices are offered.

Fleximeter: seven domains

• Time Coordination• Public Services• Private Services• Child Care & Daily Arrangements for School children• Health care• Transport and • the Municipality as Employer

Fleximeter:examples of questions

• To what extent are services or facilities available in the evening or on Saturdays?

• Is time coordination, aimed at solving time-bottlenecks in the rhythm of daily life, on the municipal agenda?

• How flexible are the working hours of municipal employees?

(3) Taskforce Part-time Plusa two year initiative

• Installation by the cabinet in January 2008• To stimulate cultural change in companies (including

more flexibel working hours and remote working) • To create a more positive image of the combination of

work and motherhood• With famous topwomen from business, science and

media• Indicator for success: increase in the number of hours

worked a week by women

We just made a start with agreements with local autorities to realise the transition we need.

Together the national, regional and local government have to investigate what works and what is needed to achieve it.

Therefore we have to learn as much as possible from other initiatieves with the same goal when it comes to time strategy.

Conclusion

Which municipalities are in the International group of local fore-runners?