Policy Brief: Babies and Bosses: Balancing work and family life

Are work and family life compatible? All too often parents find it impossible to balance employment and care commitments. As a result, it is becoming increasingly common to start a family later, have fewer children or have no children at all. Alternatively some parents may choose to temporarily or permanently stop working, despite the fact that they would like to have jobs, because of time constraints, no access to affordable childcare or difficulties in resuming their careers after childbirth.

This Policy Brief examines the challenges that parents face when trying to balance work and family life, the impact on society and the types of policies that OECD governments are using to help parents find the right balance.