Brussels, Belgium. EU-funded researchers working in six countries have developed policy recommendations based on direct input from households on how to better support families in everyday life.
Household pressures during festive periods
Festive seasons can involve family meals, gifts and outings, but many households across Europe face months of planning, bargain hunting and worry to make celebrations feel normal. Parents under financial pressure may spend weeks seeking the best deals and cheapest groceries and replace paid outings with lower-cost alternatives.
Research on labour markets and family resilience
Rense Nieuwenhuis, an associate professor of sociology at Stockholm University in Sweden, said low-resourced families “go to great lengths to make the most of the little they have.” Nieuwenhuis spent three years researching how shifting labour markets are affecting families across Europe and how well they are coping as part of the EU-funded research initiative rEUsilience.
Six-country collaboration
The rEUsilience team brought together researchers from Belgium, Croatia, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK to examine how changing labour market and social conditions are influencing families’ ability to withstand hardship. The project’s central question was how resilient European families are today.
Findings based on household experiences
By analysing the struggles households face, the strategies they use to adapt, and the policies that support or fail them, the researchers sought to identify what strengthens or weakens family resilience. Using pan-European data and new focus group research across all six countries, the team drew on the lived experiences of more than 300 low-resourced families to assess pressures on households and the policy changes needed to help them thrive.
What policy changes do you think would most effectively support families facing financial pressure?