New Institutionalism argues that the formation of any new belief-system and behavioralpatterns are widely influenced by ongoing changes in legal and institutionalmake-up. Based on this approach, this study reviews the way by which theSwedish welfare model, which records the lowest rates of part-time workers amongOECD countries, has been formed and also analyses how this has affected currentbusiness practices regarding part-time work. Based on two global businesses locatedin Sweden, namely SEB and Alfa Laval, our study shows that the socially acceptedwork norm in Sweden for both men and women is full-time regular employmentwhile part-time work is mostly used by parent-workers with small children orby aged workers nearing the retirement age, all of which are considered limitedstages of a person’s life course. We believe that this so-called ‘dual earner/careermodel’ has been socially accepted and promoted through a long history of overhalf a century based on i) peaceful labour practices emphasizing labor-managementconsultations and agreements; ii) equity-oriented philosophy; and iii) a qualitylife approach via family and welfare policies, which all resulted in an increase ofwomen’s full participation in the labour market.
Important implications for Korea from the study are two-folds. First, what we needmay not be the government’s leading role in increasing part-time work opportunitiesfor most women, but rather, common efforts by workers and employers togetherwith the entire society in deciding the future direction of the society modelwe want to pursue in the long run. Moreover, what types of roles women will beexpected to play in the future Korean society must also be decided upon.
Therefore, not only labour policies, but also women, family, and welfare policiesshould be considered all together in harmony.