OECD guidelines on work/family life balance

The third volume of the OECD series of reports, "Babies and Bosses", was published at the end of October 2004.

The series reviews policies in OECD countries to help parents reconcile work and family commitments and recommends a range of measures to improve results.

Declining fertility rates are a concern in most countries, particularly in Japan, where birth rates are dropping as more people put jobs before childbearing. In Switzerland, as many as 40% of women at age 40 with university degrees are childless.

Since a reduction in birth rates has obvious implications for future labour supply and the financial sustainability of social protection systems, many governments are investing in family-friendly policies.

These include:

 low effective tax rates to ensure that being in work in financially rewarding for all parents;

 public investment in child- and out-of-school-hours care, as well as

 family-friendly employment and workplace practices (e.g. flexible working schedules, including part-time employment).

After two reports covering Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands, and Austria, Japan and Ireland, the third report in the series covers New Zealand, Portugal, and Switzerland.

The final volume in the series, to be published in 2005, will cover Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Related links:

 OECD overview of family-friendly policies.