Getting Flexicurity Right: New Ways to Reconcile Welfare, Flexibility and Competitiveness in a Post-Crisis Europe

In the light of the target of smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth laid down by the Europe 2020 strategy, the manuscript starts from a reflection on the shortcomings of the flexicurity approach in the current economic crisis. Then, it attracts attention on occupational welfare as operational terrain for social partner to achieve win-win regulations, both juridical and organizational, to meet the needs of both employers and employees, and to direct flexicurity strategies towards high road pathways. In this line, the chapter presents a conceptual scheme, which highlights the prerequisites for highroad strategies embedded in social dialogue practices, and which can be used for analysing, classifying, and evaluating occupational welfare practices actually implemented at company level by social partners. In relation to the labour law and industrial relation analytical perspective, the conceptual scheme draws from the capability approach and the theoretical framework of “reflexive labour law”. With regard to the organizational perspective, the conceptual scheme highlights a set of organizational choices that shape working conditions congruent with both the aim of long-term economic growth and the individual needs for work-life balance, skills and competence development. In the same line, the contribution develops an empirical and conceptual critique on the adequacy of high performance work practices to serve as a means to achieve win-win solutions.