Work-Like Balance and Fathers in Austria? Empirical Evidence at the Company Level

In this chapter, we discuss parental leave and other regulations, especially working time issues, as instruments to increase men’s participation in childcare responsibilities. We look at the company level by analyzing practices and experiences of those fathers who have taken up parental leave and in a second step at the sectoral level by analyzing how male employees’ needs to reconcile work and care is supported by companies in different sectors. Austria is an interesting case as the topic is relatively high on the political agenda and specific care regulations for fathers have been implemented recently in order to raise the so far low engagement of fathers in care and unpaid work. Studying the implementation of national policies at the company level can help to better understand which challenges fathers (and companies) face when work-life balance becomes more relevant also for men and which adjustments might be useful to support their involvement in care activities.