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Assuming a long-term feedback loop between attitudes about gender divisions of labor and family policy, we examine such attitudes in Germany, Austria, and Sweden, between 1994 and 2012. Using a longitudinal, case study approach, we argue that attitudes on the gender division of labor need to be put in relation to both recent family policy changes and a country's gender regime. Employing latent class analysis, we examine the prevalence of different views on gender division of labor over time and test for measurement invariance to assess whether characteristics of attitudinal groups change across years. Results show increasing support for maternal employment within traditional groups in eastern and western Germany, potentially reflecting shifting policy within a changing gender regime. Simultaneously, intensive mothering and traditional attitudes remain more prevalent in Austria and western Germany than in eastern Germany and Sweden, indicating a persistent maternalist ideal among segments of these historically domestic gender regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important aspect when analyzing economic inequality between households with children is time. At given monetary incomes, the material well-being of families may be very different depending on how much time parents have at their disposal. In this paper, we provide estimates of the subjectively perceived cost of children depending on the extent of parental time restrictions. Building on a study by Koulovatianos, Schröder and Schmidt (J. Bus. Econ. Stat. 27:42–51, 2009) that introduces a novel way of using subjective income evaluation data for such estimations, we conduct a refined version of the underlying survey, focusing on young women with children in Germany. Our study confirms that the perceived monetary cost of children is substantial and increases with parental nonmarket time restrictions. The experienced loss in material living standards associated with supplying time to the labor market is sizeable for families with children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses the German socioeconomic panel data to investigate the effects of mass migration of East Germans on the generalized trust of West Germans who experienced the aftermath of the unification. Results suggest that West Germans' trust is negatively correlated with migration, but the persistent effect is only confined to participants in the labor markets at the time. The subsequent analysis finds that perceiving migrants as labor market competitors is a possible channel through which trust is negatively affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fully expressed shift work syndrome describes a mixture between insomniac and hypersomnic symptoms with difficulties in initiating and/or maintaining sleep, related impairments during wakefulness, and physical, mainly gastrointestinal, complaints depending on shift work times. The assessment of scientific work loads is complicated since several shift models with and without night shift. In addition, different grades of severities have been subsumed under the terms shift work and shift work disorder. In Germany shift work affects 15.5% of the labor force at least occassionally. The diagnosis results from sleep–wake diaries, while actigraphy seems to be a reasonable additional tool. Due to high comorbidities, signs of not only sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome but also depression must be explored. In addition, regular night shift work increases the risk of cancer. A decreased tolerance to night shift work with increasing age is not reflected in polysomnographic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article focuses on trends in working time patters at the workplace in Germany. The article is divided into several sections, including a section about suggested actions for workplace representative bodies to take in order to organize working time, how the workplace representative bodies can influence working time management, and if giving workers more working time flexibility will give them more freedom.

This article addresses the effects of flexible work-time designs on employee- and company-related aims. Using objective and self-reported quantitative and qualitative data the current study examines the effects of a flexible work-time design that was introduced in a service company in Germany. Building on the learning hypothesis of the job demands - control model, we predicted that a highly flexible work-time design that provides employees with high demands but at the same time also with a high degree of autonomy, and self-determination over their working time leads to positive effects on employee's personal development and learning opportunities. The results supported this hypothesis. However, in addition to employee-related benefits the results also suggested benefits for the company, such as an increase in adherence to company goals. Moreover, the objective data showed a lower degree of absenteeism and higher work quality compared to the control group working with the traditional work-time design. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the contemporary trend in Germany toward a discontinuous productive life span or lifetime work, not just for women who may interrupt a career to raise children, but also for men in an unstable, high unemployment labor market. Employer compromises, part time work, and other flexible work arrangements and schedules have made non-standard work conditions and durations the norm.