BALANCE BETWEEN FAMILY LIFE AND WORK IN THE EU

This paper focuses on the topic of family life and work, looking at ways to find a better balance between family responsibilities and work demands in the EU. Changing size and structure of the family and changing in the roles of men and women in their homes has started the demographic change, also along with geographic mobility and increased life expectancy. EU policies that search for balance between family life and work have gradually moved in their range - from the women and men equal treatment at work towards the need to stimulate economic growth by increasing the employment means to reach better work-life balance and, recently, ways to support a growth in birth rates. Over the past decade, EU policies have been transformed to emphasize the reality that harmonizing family life and work, the gender division of paid and unpaid work, and a growth in birth rates are all just as relevant policy domains. The European Commission underline that the "reconciliation policies are key responses to long-term economic and demographic challenges, and should therefore be reinforced to stimulate growth".