Aliki Mouriki
By contrast, from the labour perspective, flexicurity means mostly 3 things:
a) job protection, or, at worst employment and income protection, in order to reduce the social
risks and the uncertainties associated with economic restructuring and deregulation;
b) incentives to allow for smooth transitions between working and non-working life: e.g. parental
leave, shorter working hours, predictability of employment status, care facilities, etc.; and
c) long-term leave for learning or personal reasons.
Striking a balance between these very different views of flexicurity is one of the main challenges
of the flexicurity policy agenda, especially in a context of economic downturn and international
volatility. As it is the government and companies who essentially determine the extent and form of
flexicurity that is applied in practice, it is most important that the weaker partner in this deal -Iabour-
can voice its concerns and protect its interests.
1.2. Types and possible combinations of flexibility and
security
The concepts of flexibility, on one hand, and security, on the other cover a broad range of work
organization practices, working patterns, employment contracts, labour market systems and welfare
regimes. With respect to fl exibility, there seems to be a broad consensus in the literature that there exist
4 different types that approximate Atkinson’s flexible firm model, which typically distinguishes between
the 4 following forms: (a) numerical flexibility; (b) working time flexibility; (c) functional flexibility,
and (d) wage flexibility. 1 Another, more recent, configuration of the various forms of flexibility is
the subdivision suggested by Gouldswaard & de Nanteuil, who differentiate between external and
internal flexibility on one hand, and quantitative and qualitative flexibility, on the other. 2 These sub-
divisions correspond to the following four types of flexibility that largely overlap with Atkinson’s: (a)
numerical/ contractual flexibility; (b) productive/ geographical flexibility; (c) functional/ organiza-
tional flexibility and (d) temporal/ financial flexibility. 3
1 See Madsen, 2006
2 See Eurofound, 2007
3 ibid.
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