The modernization of working times: flexibility and work sharing in Finland

Book abstract:

There are common trends in working times all over Europe, such as debates over work sharing, the breakthrough of flexibilities and the differentiation and de-institutionalisation of working times. However, national differences exist, which can be attributed to national institutions and structures. In this book, the authors present Finland's case. Finnish characteristics include, for example, a low level of popularity for part-time work and the smallest difference of working hours between men and women in the EU. Finland endured a deep economic and social crisis in the 1990s and this book delves into the role of the crisis in the modernization of working times. How did flexibility and local bargaining make a breakthrough in Finland? What happened to the idea of work sharing? What sort of new innovations took place? and What was the role of the government in promoting societal aims?
The chapters are: Introduction - modernization, politics and policies; Finland in the 1990's; The Finnish working time regime; The arrival of flexibility - the breakthrough of 1993; Work sharing - a buried idea; Experimenting with new models - moral manoeuvres or permanent innovations?; Continuities and changes: summary and discussion of the 1990s; Time for new risks?; New chances - flexible life courses; The working times of the new century.
The book concludes with a discussion about the new risks and possibilities of working time modernization, and a vision of working times for the next millennium.