중동부유럽

Development of family-friendly workplaces is an important aspect within thecontext of social inclusion and sustainability of society. Its importance is alsorecognized at European Union level in relation to European Union strategic aims.In order to promote development of family-friendlyworking environment it isimportant to identify and evaluate obstructive andfacilitative factors.The aim ofthe paper is the clarification of what hinders andwhat facilitates formation offamily-friendly workplaces in Latvia. The researchis based on 20 semi-structuredin-depth interviews with experts and 36 semi-structured interviews withemployers of different business organizations in Latvia.The research results reveal that development of family-friendly workingenvironment is a multidimensional process and the several participants (socialagents) must get involved. During the research process acquired data discoverproblematic issues related to allocation of responsibility between state, localmunicipalities and private sector in the context ofempowerment of the requiredinfrastructure for work-family reconciliation. Theresearch shows that at presentthere is a lack of information, knowledge and studies of the real benefits gainedby all the parties involved, when organizations implement different initiatives,provisions, programs or strategies with the goal ofpromoting workers’ work andfamily reconciliation possibilities.