Manfred Auer

Bio: Manfred Auer is an academic researcher from University of Innsbruck. The author has contributed to research in topics: Employer branding & Parental leave. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 21 publications receiving 103 citations.

The relationship between paid work and parenthood--a comparison of structures, concepts and developments in the UK and Austria

Abstract: This article investigates and compares the dominant concepts of public policy concerning the employment-parenthood interface in the UK and Austria. These two countries have been chosen because they represent very different public policy conceptions, particularly in approaching the work-family issue. In order to show the consequences of these policies the paper focuses on working time and time away from employment, when children are very young, and relates these aspects to currently introduced and changed regulatory structures, such as working time regulations and statutory parental leave. The active labour market and family policy in Austria, generally, supports the reconciliation of employment and parenthood. However, the Austrian work-family 'system' suffers from the underlying notion of the male breadwinner model in public support structures and low normative support of employed mothers. The cultural barriers for a more equal distribution of the burdens of combining employment and parenthood seem to be...

Work–family reconciliation policies without equal opportunities? The case of Austria

Abstract: This paper explores the main public work–family policies in Austria (parental leave in connection with the Childcare Benefit, parents’ entitlement to part-time work, the extension of the childcare infrastructure) from the perspective of social justice using the normative concepts of gender equality, recognition, and choice. The main results show that for the most part, these policies offer affirmative recognition of maternal care and limited employment of mothers but offer little support for transformative recognition, particularly in terms of increasing the social status of working mothers and fathers as carers. Austrian work–family policies also do little to redistribute incomes and career opportunities from men to women and childcare from women to men; instead, they grant only limited freedom to choose between parental duties and employment, and the (financial) support they do offer is strongly concentrated on early childhood. All in all, the construction of the parental leave system (together with the...

Work–Family Spillover and Daily Reports of Work and Family Stress in the Adult Labor Force†

Abstract: Work–family research employing nationally representative samples and multiple methods of data collection is uncommon. We used data from two affiliated national surveys to examine the distribution of work–family spillover among working adults. The National Study of Daily Experiences (n= 741), an 8-day daily diary study using a subsample of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS; N= 2,130), allowed work–family spillover to be conceptualized and operationalized in different ways. Analyses testing family life course hypotheses indicated that self-reported negative and positive spillover between work and family were not randomly distributed within the labor force. Age was found to have a persistent curvilinear effect on negative spillover between work and family. The prevalence of co-occurring work and family stress reported over 8 days was comparable across nearly all the sociodemographic characteristics.

Work–Life, Diversity and Intersectionality: A Critical Review and Research Agenda

Abstract: Work–life issues have important implications at both organizational and individual levels. This paper provides a critical review of the work–life literature from 1990 onwards through the lens of diversity, with a particular focus on disparities of power induced by methodological and conceptual framings of work and life. The review seeks to answer the following questions: What are the gaps and omissions in the work–life research? How may they be overcome? To answer these questions, the review scrutinizes blind spots in the treatment of life, diversity and power in work–life research in both positivist and critical scholarship. In order to transcend the blind spots in positivist and critical work–life research, the review argues the case for an intersectional approach which captures the changing realities of family and workforce through the lens of diversity and intersectionality. The theoretical contribution is threefold: first, the review demonstrates that contemporary framing of life in the work–life literature should be expanded to cover aspects of life beyond domestic life. Second, the review explains why and how other strands of diversity than gender also manifest as salient causes of difference in experiences of the work–life interface. Third, the review reveals that social and historical context has more explanatory power in work–life dynamics than the micro-individual level of explanations. Work–life literature should capture the dynamism in these contexts. The paper also provides a set of useful recommendations to capture and operationalize methodological and theoretical changes required in the work–life literature.

Employer branding : strategic implications for staffrecruitment

Abstract: In many developed economies, changing demographics and economic conditions have given rise to increasingly competitive labour markets, where competition for good employees is strong. Consequently, strategic investments in attracting suitably qualified and skilled employees are recommended. One such strategy is employer branding. Employer branding in the context of recruitment is the package of psychological, economic, and functional benefits that potential employees associate with employment with a particular company. Knowledge of these perceptions can help organisations to create an attractive and competitive employer brand. Utilising information economics and signalling theory, we examine the nature and consequences of employer branding. Depth interviews reveal that job seekers evaluate: the attractiveness of employers based on any previous direct work experiences with the employer or in the sector; the clarity, credibility, and consistency of the potential employers’ brand signals; perceptions of the employers’ brand investments; and perceptions of the employers’ product or service brand portfolio.

Cultural and Institutional Factors Shaping Mothers' Employment and Working Hours in Postindustrial Countries

Abstract: Existing research shows that women’s employment patterns are not driven so much by gender as by motherhood, with childless people and fathers employed at substantially higher levels than mothers in most countries. We focus on the cross-national variation in the gap in employment participation and working hours between mothers and childless women. Controlling for individual- and household-level factors, we provide evidence that institutional and cultural contexts shape maternal employment. Well-paid leaves, publicly supported childcare services for very young children, and cultural support for maternal employment predict smaller differences in employment participation and working hours between mothers and childless women. Yet, extended leave, notably when unpaid, is associated with larger motherhood employment gaps.