The article takes into consideration the part-time arrangement not as a measure to increase occupation but as a central aspect of a «multi-active» society where the individual, if s/he chooses, can dedicate more time to other spheres of life. Here part-time is perceived as a way to valorise work activities outside the market in a frame of the partial reduction of working time dedicated. By analysing the European panorama on part-time, the following classification of countries is used - Northern, Continental, Mediterranean - according to the extent of part-time, type, age distribution, part-time rates as well as the motivations which induce workers to opt for this work modality and related rights. It seems that the part-time arrangement, when well pro-tected, is a good conciliation tool between work and market, training for the young, family commitments for women, gradual withdrawal for the elderly (to do more leisure or voluntary activities).only subscribers can see the full article

Part-time work is a widespread phenomenon in the Netherlands, es-pecially among women. Not only are part-time rates higher than in any other country, Dutch workers also report that they work part-time because they did not look for a full-time job. This paper de-scribes and explains the growth of part-time work in the Netherlands as a largely spontaneous process, triggered by the late but rapid en-trance of women in the labour market, the initially hesitant but in the end successful facilitation of part-time employment by labour market institutions and policies and, finally, an adjustment of the legal and tax system erasing much of the unequal treatment aspects of part-time work. Furthermore the paper provides an outlook for the Dutch one-and-a-half earner economy, comparing the Netherlands with the Uk and Germany, and poses the question why Dutch women so far did not seek the road towards full-time employment, the option preferred by their Scandinavian sisters.only subscribers can see the full article