TheEurobalance project which started in October 2009, has succefully completed its work across Europe.

Designed to develop Europe-wide opportunities for work life balance, particularly in SMEs, the project took an innovative work life balance guide developed in the UK and transferred it, both linguistically and culturally, to other areas of Europe: the East (Poland), the North (Denmark), and the south (Italy and Greece).

To help to ensure that the mission of Eurobalance and the theme of promoting work life balance continues beyond the end of the project, as well as the WIKI Eurobalance Guide the project has initiated a new web-based forum that is open to anyone to use.

Wrexham Family Information Service (WFIS) has been supporting employers and employees in Wales and the UK with up to date information on Work Life Balance legislation, research and good practice for over a decade.

Danish partner VIFIN has been in talks with the local part one of the largest unions in Denmark, 3F, about using some of the materials developed in the Eurobalance project. In particular the eTraining package is likely to be useful for union members, who are interested in taking up the topic in their workplace. Through the package they will find information and guides to cascading work life balance.

Following new contacts and collaboration arising from participation in the Eurobalance project, Italian partner Diciannove’s connection with some NGOs and Foundations in the autonomous Region of Trent has pointed to the use of a new and innovative management tool relating to the potential impact work life balance.

The Eurobalance guide to work life balance is now available for anyone to read online. Not only can you read it but you can contribute towards its further development because it has been converted into a wiki. Not only that but anyone can make changes to their own language version, editing information that is pertiment to their own country.

The Eurobalance partnership is currently developing a new opportunity for people to further their interest and knowledge of work life balance across Europe. This is intended to enable the project work and the network that has been developed to continue after the formal end of the project – at the end of September 2011.

Grandparents are “undervalued and overlooked” in Britain compared with those living elsewhere in Europe, according to a report written for the campaign group Grandparents Plus. It suggests that grandparents continue to play an important role in family life, providing help and support to children and grandchildren and also become primary caregivers when parents are unable to fulfil this role.

Possibly due to the global recession, the evidence is fast becoming available that shows how Spanish workers spend more hours per day at work than in any other European country. Spanish firms are open for business, on average, an extra hour for every 25 hours of their European competitors. The result appears to be reduced productivity and increased pressures on family life.

Psychologist Richard A. McKinnon has recently pointed out what Eurobalance has been emphasising for some time: the factors that have an impact on employees’ experience of work-life balance vary enormously across the Europe. He points to recent research from Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions which shows that different European cultures consider different factors when assessing their work life balance experiences.