Flexicurity in Denmark

The term "flexicurity" is a portmanteau word derived from flexibility and security. The term refers to the Western welfare models used to benefit our citizens and to improve the security of people's labour and their rights (APCDA, 2022).

The European Union (EU) has some interesting "flexicurity" strategies to benefit workers and employers which their member nations can adopt to grow this concept (EU, 2022). From the Covid-19 situation of the previous three years, it is heartening to see that the EU is has been adopting this concept since 2007, and has embedded the idea into all employment and social welfare EU policy to meet this growing need in the national member populations (EU, 2022).

This term is also a key idea for the future of employment relations in the HR field. The idea of flexicurity is practised so that staff can adopt flexible working hours, to ensure relative job security to both employees and employers.

Danish employers appear to have taken this idea to their hearts (see image accompanying this post). In Denmark they use the "Flexicurity Model" as their employment framework, "often described as a ‘golden triangle’", combining "high mobility between jobs with a comprehensive income safety net for the unemployed and an active labour market policy". It consists of four main components (The Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment, 2022):

1. Flexible labour market
2. Income security
3. Educational policy, and
4. Active labour market policy.

The system appears to allow people to relatively easily dip in and out of jobs and education. It provides generous levels of income support for those who are unemployed: provides a "decent" welfare backstop, not - as is the case of New Zealand - a minimum survivability grant (Barry, 2002). The model used in Denmark applies flexicurity principles across their entire employment domain (The Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment, 2022). 

The flexicurity principles could easily be practiced within individual organisations, agencies or communities to test them prior to widespread implementation. It would be interesting to be able to study it and its outcomes in action, or to read a case study about it.

We wonder if this type of model could be adopted in New Zealand, and - if so - how well it would work.

Carla, Fiona, Eleanor, and Beate

References:

APCDA. (2022). APCDA Glossary of Career Development Terms (version 3). Asia-Pacific Career Development Association. https://asiapacificcda.org/resources/Documents/GlossaryProject/APCDA_Glossary_Version_3.pdf  

Barry, A. (Director). (2002). In the Land of Plenty [documentary film]. Community Media Trust. 

EU. (2022). Flexicurity. European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=102

The Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment. (2022). Flexicurity. https://www.star.dk/en/about-the-danish-agency-for-labour-market-and-recruitment/flexicurity/

* Carla Knight, Fiona Smeaton, Beate Wiebel, & Eleanor Blakey kindly prepared much of the material for this post