Suchergebnisse

This study aims at investigating the level of satisfaction with the allocation of time between work and leisure, and possible explaining factors, among the employed in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Using the European Social Survey (ESS) Round 3 data from 2006, it is possible to make competent quantitative comparisons between the Nordic countries (excluding Island which did not participate in the ESS data collection). Multilevel modelling (GLM) was used for data analyses. Only those respondents to the ESS survey who were currently employed were included in the analysis. The results show that the Danish employees are the most satisfied and the Swedish employees the least satisfied with the division of time between work and other aspects of life. In all the four countries, work-related rather than family-related or other leisure-oriented factors predicted the level of satisfaction. Socio-economic and family-related factors predicted satisfaction at the country level, but did not account for common explanatory factors. However, it may be that those who are potentially the most dissatisfied due to difficulties in combining work and family are not at work at all, and thus not involved in the study. The observed differences between the countries are discussed in the present article. To conclude from the results of this study, poor work content reduces temporal commitment to work, and accordingly, time use as a central element of individual well-being should not be ignored.

This article focuses on the role of means-tested social assistance in Finland, which is often considered one of the Nordic welfare states described as having a universal welfare model. The article scrutinises the capacity of the final safety net to enhance the social citizenship of social assistance recipients. The Finnish social security system combines social insurance (earnings-related benefits), universal benefits (flat-rate benefits), free or affordable public services, and social assistance as a means-tested and targeted element, and thus it is a discussion on the degree of universalism that best captures the nature of universalism in the Finnish welfare state. Because the final safety net includes public services (especially social work) and income transfers (especially social assistance), its ability to strengthen social citizenship depends on both elements—separately and as a combination—as there may be a simultaneous need for financial aid and services. Whilst national registers provide data on social assistance, there is no national register data on municipal social services, which is why a survey was conducted. In this study, the heterogenic clients supported by the final safety net were described based on an open-ended question in the survey data. Statistics were then used to evaluate the frequency of client groups (capable clients, persistent clients, invisible clients, safety net dropouts). The article concludes that universalism as a social policy principle is challenged by the diversity of the clientele.

This study examines adolescents' alone time by utilising a Finnish time use survey from 2009-2010. In the public debate, it is feared that young people spend too much time alone in front of computers instead of being socially and physically active. This descriptive study provides answers to questions of how much time 10- to 19-year-old adolescents spend alone and how much time is devoted to computing and other activities. Finnish adolescents spend on average 4 hours and 33 minutes alone per day. Adolescents spending more time alone devote significantly more time to computing and less time to social interaction and sports. Girls spend more time alone, but boys spend more time in computing, which may have more adverse effects on their well-being. More research to better understand the relationship between computing and adolescents' welfare is needed.

Sharing responsibilities for paid work and unpaid care between men and women is recognised as one of the challenges that Western countries face in the 21st century. This article examines attitudes towards sharing paid work and unpaid care responsibilities in 22 Western countries by addressing the following questions. (1) How do attitudes towards different earner-carer models vary across countries? (2) Which socio-demographic and country-level factors explain differences in attitudes to an equal division of paid work and unpaid care responsibilities? International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) data 2012 is used as the data source and research methods include logistic multi-level regression analysis. Results reveal that cross-national variations in attitudes are significant: Most traditional attitudes are found in many Eastern European countries, whereas Nordic countries are the least traditional. At the individual level, those who are highly educated, in paid work, single, childless, and religiously non-active support the equal division of paid work and unpaid care responsibilities more often than other respondents. At the country level, longer father-specific parental leave, a stronger tradition of women's paid work, and less traditional gender roles are related to stronger support for an equal division of paid work and unpaid care.

The five Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, are well-known for their extensive welfare system and gender equality which provides both parents with opportunities to earn and care for their children. In this topical book, expert scholars from the Nordic countries, as well as UK and the US, demonstrate how modern fatherhood is supported in the Nordic setting through family and social policies, and how these contribute to shaping and influencing the images, roles and practices of fathers in a diversity of family settings and variations of fatherhoods. This comprehensive volume will have wide international appeal for those who look to Nordic countries and their success in creating gender equal societies