Family-friendly work practices in Britain: Availability and perceived accessibility

Abstract

Using linked data for British workplaces and employees, we find a low base rate of workplace-level availability, and a substantially lower rate of individual-level perceived accessibility, for five family-friendly work practices' parental leave, paid leave, job sharing, subsidized child care, and working at home. Our results demonstrate that statistics on workplace availability drastically overstate the extent to which employees perceive that family-friendly policies are accessible to them personally. British workplaces appear to be responding slowly, and perhaps disingenuously, to pressures to enhance family-friendly work practices. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.