Work-life balance has lately become a recurring theme both in companies and in political debate. It is a goal everyone pursues, and without which it makes no sense to think about social progress. We want to look at it from the family, as the reference micro-system for people's social development.
WHAT FAMILY, WORK AND PERSONAL BALANCE IS
We offer our own definition: the state of adjustment of the effective, positive and balanced participation of men and women across the different areas of their lives —family, work, leisure and personal space— without shedding the inherent responsibilities and allowing positive individual development. Reaching it requires the involvement of the State and of companies. But is that enough? We put another term on the table: co-responsibility.
WHAT CO-RESPONSIBILITY IS
We can define it as the shared responsibility, in the family and social context, of men and women, so that they share public and private spaces, resources, decisions and responsibilities (Martínez Quintana, 2017-2018). It may be the pending task in becoming a balanced society: an equitable sharing of tasks and care would clear the path towards women's social and labour inclusion, without overload or guilt.
The reality, however, is different: women's entry into the labour market has not brought a proportional reduction of family responsibilities on the male figure, perpetuating the idea that it must be the woman who harmonises both spaces or who supervises external support.
OUR OWN STUDY (2019)
In 2019 we carried out a qualitative study in one of the companies we serve, on the perception of work-life balance and co-responsibility. The sample was women aged 36 to 45, with a partner, minor children and both adults working. Some findings:
- 88% had a part-time contract, which they pointed to as an advantage for balancing.
- In 95% of cases, domestic and care tasks were taken on by the woman.
- 78% relied on external support, mainly grandparents, followed by nurseries and after-school activities.
- Only 12% kept some personal leisure activity by delegating care to their partner.
REFLECTION
Do we still think that changing the social model is solely the responsibility of the State or of companies? We dare to state that work-life balance will become a reality when an equitable sharing of family responsibilities takes hold in homes. The path has begun and changes are already visible in educational patterns, but there is still a long way to go. We support workforces with those burdens through Corporate Social Wellbeing. The regulatory side of equality —plan, pay audit and protocols— is handled in Equality plans.