Irene Hardill

Gender, Migration and the Dual Career Household

1. Social and Spacial Mobility in a Global Economy 2. Households, Careers and Decision Making 3. Defining Status and Success through the Pursuit of a Career 4. Defining Status and Success through Residential Property 5. The Blurring of Boundaries between Home and Work 6. Spatial Mobility within the Education System 7. Organizational Careers: Patriarchy and Expatriate Work 8. Professional Careers and Skilled International Migration: Case Studies of Health Care Professionals 9. Dual Career Couples and the New Economy

Remote working—altering the spatial contours of work and home in the new economy

The temporal pattern of work has changed in its daily, weekly and monthly rhythms, but so has the ‘spatiality’ of work: for some paid work is undertaken at home, or in cyberspace. Telecommuting can be used to ‘improve’ the lifestyles of long distance weekly commuters and their families.

Severe health and social care issues among British migrants who retire to Spain

In recent years, there has been a growth in academic interest in international retirement migration in Europe, particularly north-south retirement migration to destinations like Spain. In this paper we focus on those members of the British community who have lived in Spain for a considerable time and for whom familial, social and institutional ties with Britain are weak or disrupted. Age Concern España was established by members of the British community to provide information and services on healthcare, benefits and local services in Spain. Four indicative case studies of those requesting assistance and classified as being of ‘serious need’ are presented. They illustrate the ways in which happy and fulfilling lives in Spain were abruptly changed as the persons resources (bodily, economic, social and skills) for independent living diminished, and in which institutions and friendship networks played a key role in supporting life. The paper is the product of collaboration between researchers and practitioners in Spain and the UK, and brings together previous research with new qualitative case studies. Whilst policy-makers, practitioners and gerontologists have an increasing awareness of the needs of older migrants and the challenges they pose for public policy, particularly for health and social care systems in Spain, there have been little sustained analysis and cross-country debate.

Choosing to relocate: An examination of the impact of expatriate work on dual-career households

Abstract The globalization of production and services has accelerated the demand for expatriate workers. Using the household as the basic social unit, we examine the effects of participating in this global labour market for men and for women. In the international labour market women are often excluded or marginalised and their household work may go unrecognised and unrewarded. Organisational attempts to make relocations acceptable may be inadequate or subject to recessionary pressures. We draw on interviews carried out with 30 dual-career households working in the Greater Nottingham area to explore the labour market experiences of a subset —of expatriate managers and professionals and their partners—the differential effects on their careers and the decision-making process involved in their relocations.

‘At Least I Can Do Something’: The Work of Volunteering in a Community Beset by Worklessness

The voluntary sector has been mainstreamed into public policy with consequences that include more reliance upon the time, commitment and skills of volunteers. In many policy initiatives to combat social exclusion, volunteering is cast as a form of self-improvement and re-training for the workforce. Qualitative research in a disadvantaged community, however, uncovered the persistence of more traditional forms of volunteering associated with mutual support and identification with the needs of others. Policies intended to broaden the base of the volunteer workforce need to recognise and nurture the intrinsic rewards of volunteering.

Introduction: remixing the economy of welfare? Changing roles and relationships between the state and the voluntary and community sector

This paper appeared, subsequent to peer review and by Cambridge University Press, in Social policy and society, 2011; vol 10(3), pp.337-339.

Gender perspectives on British expatriate work

Abstract Contemporary corporate geographies have a strong international dimension. Multi-national companies often require staff to be ‘mobile’, including a willingness to work abroad, as international assignments can form an integral part of career development for potential senior managers. But, as in the colonial era, todays expatriate workers are mostly male. This paper explores the impact of expatriate work on the household, which remains the basic social unit around which people conduct their lives. This paper draws on the findings of research on the career and migration histories of in-migrants to the East Midlands, Great Britain. Reference is made to information collected on the career histories and labour market experiences of managers and professionals and their partners who have been expatriates, as well as the bargaining/compromising involved in balancing the often competing demands of ‘work’ (both ‘his’ career and ‘her’ career) and ‘home’ (‘their’ career). Success in managerial and professional careers often depends on commitment: working long hours and ‘putting the job first’. It appears that womens careers, therefore, could be adversely affected in two ways: first, by foreign assignments being denied them, and, second, by interruption/disruption to their career caused by their partners posting abroad.

Volunteering for all? Explaining patterns of volunteering and identifying strategies to promote it

In policy terms in the UK, as elsewhere, volunteering has become increasingly associated with training for the workplace; a view which offers little to individuals ‘beyond’ the labour market because of age, disability or care commitments. Applying a neo-Durkheimian framework to a study of volunteers we examine how far the patterns of volunteering can be explained by the underlying institutional factors of strong and weak social regulation and social integration. This framework can offer insights into a range of possible policy levers for individuals rather than a ‘one size fits all’ emphasis on volunteering for personal gain for the workplace.

Retirement migration, the ‘other’ story: caring for frail elderly British citizens in Spain

ABSTRACT Recent years have seen a growth in research on retirement/lifestyle migration to Spain, however this has tended to focus on the reasons for moving, as well as the lifestyles adopted as part of a healthy and active retirement. However, ageing in Spain can bring challenges as a persons resources for independent living diminish. This paper draws on narrative interviews with vulnerable older British people in Spain, focusing on those who have encountered a severe decline in health, are frail and in need of care. It looks at the formal and informal networks and agencies that support these individuals, in particular the resources and strategies they employ to access care. Drawing on a framework of care provision developed by Glucksmann and Lyons, four broad modes of provision for old age care used by older British people in Spain are identified: state/public, family/community, voluntary/not-for-profit and market/for-profit. The paper argues that there are language, cultural, spatial and financial barriers when accessing care in Spain as an older British citizen. It is concluded that there are some frail, vulnerable people that may fall through a support gap, whereby they are no longer the responsibility of UK welfare services, yet not fully recognised in their new country of residence, and asks if more should be done to support this population.

Delivering Public Services in the Mixed Economy of Welfare: Perspectives from the Voluntary and Community Sector in Rural England

The voluntary and community sector in England is playing an increasingly important role in the delivery of public services to older adults and in doing so they rely on unpaid volunteers. In this article, we draw on the findings of a recent qualitative study of the impact on the voluntary and community sector of delivering ‘low-level’ public services that promote independent living and wellbeing in old age. The fieldwork focused on services that help older adults aged 70+ living in remote rural communities across three English regions. Those charged with service delivery, which is increasingly the voluntary and community sector, face particular challenges, such as uncertain funding regimes and reliance on volunteer labour.