CURA-WAROL > Research issues

Research issues

The Community-University Research Alliance on the Work-life articulation over the lifecourse (CURA-WAROL) has a keen interest in the realities of employment and in the expectations of the labour force on this issue. In this regard, the CURA-WAROL seeks to assess the position of social actors in view of determining which arrangements are desirable in order to increase the level of activity or production while offering better working conditions to ageing employees or to employees with dependants (i.e., with children or disabled elderly persons).

CURA- WAROL addresses the following issues

 What are the actual working conditions (i.e., schedules, work or employees’ time, activities...), and retirement options(normal, gradual, or early or preretirement) in Canada and in four other countries: Belgium, France, Sweden and Finland?

 What explains that France, Sweden and Finland display high fertility rates and high levels of female labour force participation?

 How were Belgium and Finland able to increase end of career activity?

 What are the expectations of both women and men with respect to work-life balance, end of career and retirement in Canada?

 What is the position of social actors and community groups representing various categories in different regions: ageing workforce (FADOQ network), management and employers, unions, parents, families...? Québec, New Brunswick and British Columbia were selected because of observed similarities with respect to working time and leisure expectations, and because of institutional differences, i.e., unionization and public policies.

 What would be the level of interest of Canadian actors for measures experimented abroad, for example Belgium’s Time Credit, and for working time arrangements or forms of reduction in working time, i.e. systems implemented in France, Sweden and Finland?

 How can we elicit innovation in business practices and public policies (analysis of innovative processes applied to work organisation)? The practical experience acquired in Belgium, France, Sweden and Finland is of significant interest since these countries have implemented systems and measures likely to appeal to Québec and Canada.

 Other issues may well arise in the coming years as information is retrieved, communicated and analysed with our research partners; CURA-WAROL expects that new projects will emerge in the different Research Partnership Projects (RPP).

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