Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Department of Social Sciences - Berlin Graduate School of Social Science

Cohort

BGSS Generation 2017

Title

Time conflicts over the life-course and the impact of time policies on individual biographies.

Abstract

The dissertation project deals with time conflicts in various critical phases in individual (employment) biographies. The central focus of the project is on time policy interpreted as one element of social policy, more specifically the evaluation of existing time policies and reform proposals. In today’s working world employees are confronted with constantly changing working conditions. The acceleration of technological progress is only one of many new requirements placed upon them. Time policy allows individuals and households to cope with those conflicts at different stages of their life course, e.g. caring for children, sick or aging family members, working time flexibility or transitions into pension. Until now, the dissertation project consists of three subprojects: Project I is dealing with the impact of changing societal norms on the distribution of care tasks in couples with small children. In this context the impact of the policy ‘ElterngeldPlus’ will be evaluated. Project II focuses on company determinants that allow employees to realize transitions from full-time to part-time employment. Additionally, the impact of the ‘Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz’ shall be analyzed. To this end, Data from the LIAB will be analyzed before and after the introduction of the policy. In project III the successful realization of a desired working hours increase will be analyzed through qualitative interviews in order to evaluate the discussed policy ‘Rückkehrrecht’. This dissertation project is the sociological part of the interdisciplinary junior research group “Time Policy” funded by Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and led by Kai-Uwe Müller at DIW Berlin.