Findings from the expert interviews

3.1.1 Overview

In both regions, in order to gain an overview of the project or service area in question, interviews were conducted with experts, project directors or department managers. Another reason for these approaches was to facilitate contact with the employees, which was also achieved except in the case of the cleaning trade (see Section 3.2.1.1). In the seven interviews for each region, the good practice examples were of more interest than organisations already in existence for a longer period because of their innovative value and are therefore given greater prominence. A breakdown by areas of activity can be found in Table A1. The aim was in principle to explore the special characteristics of the region. For example, although it may come as a surprise at first that play-groups in Linz (in contrast to Vienna) are cited as a good practice model, this is can be explained by the fact that play-groups have only really existed in Linz since the end of the 1980s, whereas there is a longer tradition of them in Vienna. On the other hand, the Cinderella project in Vienna is cited as an innovative example because of its aims and intentions, whereas child minding services in this form are nothing new in Linz, indeed they are an established institution.

The activities of the organisations contacted are concentrated in the child-care and cleaning fields. To round off the regional picture, interviews were also conducted with two of the organisations active in the field of care of the elderly. It should be noted as well that, in the case of larger organisations (with the exception of Sozial Global, Interview 7), the questions did not cover the entire field of activity of the organisation but only projects or departments relevant to the area of interest.

Information on the exact level of the annual budget is only supplied in part (either because the interviewee refused to provide it or because it was not possible to give an indication in view of the project structure). However, information on financing partners is available: with the exception of the self-employed workers and the project mobile Kinderkrankenpflege [Ambulatory nursing care for children], all the organisations were receiving assistance or grants at the time of the interview. Apart from cases in which assistance is provided by the city administration concerned, the provincial governments and the Public Employment Service (AMS) are the main financing partners. In addition, the European Social Fund (ESF), the National Action Plan for Employment (NAP), the Federal Ministries and the Vienna Employment Promotion Fund (WAFF) were mentioned as sources of funding.

The organisations interviewed were all active throughout the region (Vienna or Linz). One project (häusliche Hilfe), covering the whole of Upper Austria, serves a wider catchment area.

Ten of the fourteen projects are organised centrally, i.e. they only have one operating base in the area served. Only larger providers, such as the welfare organisations Sozial Global and Volkshilfe Wien, have several bases from which to serve an area.

Employee numbers vary considerably, ranging from one self-employed operator to 1524 employees (admittedly the entire organisation, not just one specific area of activity, was covered in this interview).

The proportion of women, both in the areas considered and on the individual staffs, at 93%, is very high. To some extent, women are employed exclusively because of the target group defined for the projects. In six cases, men are also employed; their representation in the total number fluctuates between 4% and 18%. Only in one project in the cleaning area, targeted at the long-term unemployed or those difficult to place, were non-Austrians also employed. In the other projects, the profile of employee requirements (for example, perfect German in the Haus and Heimservice project of Wiener Hilfswerk) appeared to prevent the recruitme nt of foreigners. In most organisations there is a predominance of part-time workers. Those who worked full-time were mainly self-employed persons in the cleaning and child care fields.

3.1.2 Quality of the institution

An indicator of the quality of an organisation is its commitment to its employees. The organisations interviewed make an effort on their behalf. A key element here is the assurance of a regular exchange of communication between the employees: the institutionalisation of team discussion meetings, or at least the fact that they are held, was mentioned by the experts.

Also supervision or an opportunity for the assessment of work form part of that. Such consultations already take place at regular intervals in care of the elderly and in play-groups when required, whereas they are rather unusual in the cleaning area. In the case of child minders the situation varies from one employer to another. The key requirement in play-groups is a good exchange of communication with parents.

Initial and continuing training of the highest possible quality form a second element. The experts were in agreement on this too. There are differences here depending on occupation:

whereas a professional profile and training courses (albeit of varying length in the individual Provinces) are already well established in care of the elderly and the prime concern in this case is for an improvement in quality, training in the cleaning area is still in the experimental stages. There is no regulated training or professional profile. Thus the projects offer, or are developing, training or basic instruction to differing degrees. More progress has been achieved in the field of child care, where a standardised professional profile for child minders has already been developed through the Cinderella project.

Differences in continuing training arise depending on whether an area of work is organised in the form of a social project or not. Projects (such as those launched by Sozial Global, Volkshilfe and Hilfswerk) make provision for basic instruction or training and have secured funding for the purpose, but the intention is that the employees should return to the labour market when their project service contract comes to an end. Otherwise further education or training depends on the (financial) resources of the initiative: for example, play-groups have a tight budget, the self-employed have no time for continued training. All the experts realise the importance of continuing training, however, and wherever possible provide it for their employees.

Making it easier for employees to reconcile family and work is also a quality criterion.

There are considerable similarities between the ways and means chosen in all areas. The most frequently mentioned measures are: allowing the employees to arrange their working time to suit themselves through coordination with their colleagues, or giving consideration to their needs when time and duty rosters are drawn up, and the possibility of part-time work which can be extended where necessary. In the case of child minders, however, no special measures

were mentioned⁹⁵. Working conditions in household services overall are still in need of improvement, but especially in the field of child minding.

Perhaps because of these unattractive working conditions, men are hardly to be found in household service occupations. As regards the performance of activities with reference to sex, it may be noted that men - where they are employed in a household at all - are soon called upon to do other, “heavier” jobs, such as gardening or furniture moving. In addition low pay and frequent part-time work are repeatedly mentioned by the experts as reasons for the low involvement of men. In the care of the elderly and cleaning fields, refusal on the part of clients is also often encountered. This points to a fundamental problem for the provider organisations, whose concern must be for both client satisfaction and staff development. The organisations anticipate customers’ wishes (or react to them) and in so doing bolster the status quo. In contrast, men are positively sought after in child care and welcomed by the parents with open arms:

Men need no qualifications, it is enough to be a man.

(Interview E10)

Not least, the traditional role patterns are a source of complaint:

It is just ‘not the done thing’ to walk away from a normal working environment and take up a job in child care.

(Interview E11)

Accordingly, solutions proposed tend in the direction of higher pay, prestige, possibility of full-time employment, more qualifications or qualifications to start with, depending on the field of work, and a change in the role pattern (though the organisations do not see themselves in any position to bring about a change).

A further point in the expert interviews concerned the conditions for successfully maintaining a position on the market. In all the interviews correct treatment and consideration for the needs and wishes of the customers or persons receiving care were mentioned. The concrete approach varies from one field of work to another⁹⁶. Thus it is crucial to provide appropriate job instruction and qualification, as well as to give employees some basic “social conditioning”. All things considered, it is of fundamental importance to create and provide a high-quality service.

95 Reconciliation of family and private spheres here is a matter for the child minder, which she achieves indirectly by indicating when and for how long she can look after children. The association takes account of this when referring children. However there is pressure from the service provider, because of the heavy demand, to take more children for longer, as interviews with child minders to some extent showed.

96 In child care, consideration of the wishes of the parents is critical. In welfare care it is important, after optimum success in the first contact, to see the person cared for as a customer or always to assign the same person as the carer.

Area-specific factors for successful implementation have to be considered in addition. In the cleaning area it is essential to offer the broadest possible range of services, in other words apart from just cleaning it should be possible to take on other jobs. It is, however, necessary to offer a commendable service which can stand up to competition from the informal market⁹⁷. 3.1.3 Estimation of the development of the household services sector

Care of the elderly as a whole is seen as an expanding sector. Experts from the field see an expansion of employment, in particular among the more highly qualified staff, in their institutions as a high probability. The reasons for this are demographic changes, such as the rising proportion of elderly persons in the population, and increasing awareness at political level. The trend points in the direction of an expansion in ambulatory care instead of care in residential establishments and hospitals. Staff will be needed in the future especially for the intensive provision of care in the home.

Similarly, it is obvious that considerable potential is seen in the cleaning sector. In effect, however, the projects surveyed have problems in employing more people because of limitations related to the target group and persons addressed. The self-employed in turn indicate obstacles due to trade regulations and legal provisions governing associations or to difficulties in cooperation with tax and other authorities.

We would rather just get on with our work, if they would only let us.

(Interview E2)

Plans for geographic expansion are limited in the individual organisations interviewed, since they already cover a large catchment area. Likewise, as regards the range of services offered, little new is planned, since the scope allowed by the trade regulations has already been exhausted.

Expansion of employment in this sector thus depends on the creation of the right policy environment: capable, self-reliant and self-accountable employees sensitive to the needs of the clients (private sphere!), hence also appropriate training or at least some job instruction, are needed in this area. An increase in the number of persons working independently could be achieved by an expansion in advisory and support services.

There should be something like credits for newly self-employed persons which would help them keep a business afloat during the start-up phase; at the moment there is only support financing for machines and the like, but machines are not what I need.

(Interview E1)

Something else that is needed in the cleaning sector is the removal of obstacles related to the trade regulations and legal provisions governing associations, in order to enable providers to offer a wide range of services legally. A further precondition is successful competition with the informal sector. As it is hardly possible to achieve competitive pricing in private-sector operations, price support through of AMS schemes is seen as a possible way of setting prices at appropriate levels.

97 Experts from the child minders’ associations emphasised that their services should be cheaper than those offered by nursery schools but that appropriate funding from public sources was critical, so that parents should be able to choose freely whether to entrust their children to institutional or to i ndividual care and that their choice should not be determined primarily by the price.

More recognition of these occupations, or some recognition to start with, on the part of society, together with action to encourage private households not to procure these services on the informal market, are a further factor. On the same theme, attention is drawn to the quasi

“cultural” problem of the fact that delegating housework or letting strangers into the house in Austria is a rather sensitive issue, something that needs to be brought out into the open and discussed. On the other hand, tax incentives are seen by some experts as less appropriate, since they would presumably be more likely to benefit rich households.

In child care, estimates of development prospects vary. Although there are demographic trends which would tend to indicate an expansion in demand (more working women, a trend towards single-parent families, no “grandma generation” which automatically takes on the job of looking after the children), the birth-rate has been declining for years. Particular needs for the future were seen in the short-term care of children (supervision by the hour) and in longer opening times for care institutions.

Differences at regional level also emerged: while in Linz play-groups are still working on quality improvements and expansion in provision and - because of the high demand - could employ more staff, the peak has clearly already been passed in Vienna (stagnation or reduction of staff levels, no new provision). In principle, however, the experts considered that there is a need for such establishments, since they offer special services for which there is consistent demand on the part of parents.

As child minders are viewed rather as a complement to the existing and well developed range of child care services, the demand here is expected to remain constant. As in the past, changes in the parental leave rules would have an effect on demand. Even so, it is still difficult to find child minders. This has to do with the inconvenient working conditions and, in particular, the poor remuneration. Some hope is held out by the pilot project Cinderella discussed above which, in addition to providing standardised qualification-based training, is also contributing to an improvement in the fundamentals for this field of work: higher qualifications justify higher pay; prestige will be raised if it becomes possible through the NAP to define this area as a “new employment” area and to confer on it the political prestige of the NAP.

Professionalisation, training, in particular modular training and qualification, will promote employment in this sector. A change in the social role pattern (how women/mothers are seen) is the basis and a condition for that.

3.2 Findings from the employee interviews