514.3
Clouds over Spain: Work and Family in the Age of Austerity
Design/methodology/approach – The article reviews relevant literature in work-family balance. Two databases (2005 Ad-hoc Module on work life balance; 2010 Ad-hoc module on conciliation between working life and family life) were analysed in order to characterise work-family balance before and during the economic recession.
Findings – The findings revealed that (a) economic crisis had a negative impact on the control and autonomy that Spaniards had of their jobs, (b) economic crisis diminishes the level of flexibility at work (c) economic crisis had a negative impact on the level of stress among Spanish employees.
Originality/value – Despite the explosive growth in the work-family literature, it is no easy to find empirical evidence showing the relationship between financial crisis and work-family balance. Moreover, the case of Spain is very interesting given the very specific circumstances of austerity there.