IER researchers, Dr Heike Behle and Beate Baldauf, and a IER doctoral researcher, Charoula Tzanakou, all attended the 2010 Work, Employment and Society Conference at the University of Brighton last week.   Heike and Charoula’s paper entitled ‘German and Greek Students on undergraduate degree courses at UK universities. Their everyday experiences and expectations for the future’ brings together Heike’s work on Futuretrack and some of Charoula’s doctoral studies.  Their paper explored the everyday experiences and expectation of German and Greek students in the UK and their preparation for the transitions after graduation.  Beate’s paper, written with Dr Clare Lyonette, entitled ‘Quality part-time work: organisational responses to the recession’ drew on their recent research commissioned by the Government Equalities Office.  Their paper based on a qualitative study explored two key issues: (a) how organisations have responded to the recession and what role, if any, part-time work or, more generally, reduced hours measures have played and whether they have had a lasting impact on working patterns; and (b) how organisations have supported or increased ‘quality’ part-time work.

As a member of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology Work-Life Balance Working Group, Clare Lyonette was involved in the conference ‘A workshop on Work-Life Balance: Towards a Research and Practice Agenda for Systemic Change’ on 5-6 July.

Clare presented on ‘“Quality” part-time work and caring: the implications for work-family reconciliation’ at the conference at Keele University on 23 June 2010.  She presented the results of a recent study conducted for the Government Equalities Office with Beate Baldauf and Dr Heike Behle, entitled   ‘Quality’ part-time work: a review of the evidence.