Happy Homes: Happy Society? The contribution of domestic life in a time of social changes

Our Fifth International Academic Conference asked this question: Is there a connection between what happens in the home and what happens in wider society? The focus of the question was in terms of “happiness” or well-being, and the contribution to it of the life and work of the home. It could hardly have been imagined when HRF planned this conference, before the pandemic, just how relevant and timely this question would become as our homes became the dominant context for all our lives. Our call for papers revealed a wide range of responses from academics across different continents, disciplines and career stages with their readings of “happiness” and how it is fostered in the home and shared in the community.

The conference planned for November 2020 had to be adapted in line with Covid-19 restrictions and so the opportunity for paper givers to present their responses in person was not possible. Instead the Conference Academic Director, Professor Maria Teresa Russo, working with the Scientific Committee, selected papers for online presentation under four broad themes:

1. Happy Dwellings? Perspectives on the World. What is the importance of architecture, housing conditions and choices and what part do they play in well-being in the home and beyond?
2. Values and Domestic Life. What are the essential values of the home and how do they foster well-being and encourage its wider experience?
3. Rediscovering Relationships in the Context of Social Changes. What role do relationships play in well-being at home and in our wider lives?
4. Technology and Well-Being in the Home. What do the new technologies bring to homes? What are the benefits to well-being and what are the threats?

Each workshop was overseen by a relevant senior academic with an interest and expertise in the field. HRF would like to record here our thanks to Professor Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem, Professor Maria Pia Chirinos, Professor Agnieszka Nogal and Dr Stephen Davies for giving their time and care to moderating these workshops.

Paper givers each gave a ten-minute presentation followed by an opportunity for questions. Inevitably far more discussion was prompted than could be accommodated reasonably during the limited time available for each session. We feel sure that the conversation will however continue both between participants and in their own places of study, and of course in the preparation of the publication which will incorporate selected papers.

What follows is a brief summary of each workshop:

Workshop 1: Happy Dwellings? Perspectives on the World. Moderated by Professor Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem, Chair in Architecture and the Founding Director of the Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Global Heritage (CAUGH), and co-lead of Global Heritage Research at Nottingham Trent University, UK.

Dr Ali Aumran Lattif Al-Thahab, Department of Architecture, Babylon University, Iraq presented his paper on Architecture in Between: Social Change and Happiness Cross-temporal analysis of urban living in twentieth-century Iraq. The paper looks at the changes in housing and living choices from traditional Arabic forms to contemporary urban living, asking “whether …contemporary house forms… or the traditional structured socio-spatial systems based on inherited traditions and practices are most relevant and contribute to the concept of happiness or the creation of happy homes and thus a happy community.” Dr. Al-Thahab concludes that building happy communities does indeed depend upon the happiness of the smallest components – homes and families – but that more research is needed to discern which housing choices make for greatest happiness.

Multi-cultural perception towards happy homes: the case of Iran and Malaysia. Dr Farah Sharin presented this paper on behalf of the research team: Ehsan Asnaashari, Emmanuel Aboagye-Nimo, Andrew Knight and Farah Sharin, Nottingham Trent University. Happiness or well-being is now an increasingly legitimate focus for research. This paper presents an exploratory study of the concept of happy homes in Iran and Malaysia. Two sets of semi-structured interviews were conducted with people in Iran and Malaysia asking questions regarding underpinning factors promoting or hindering core emotions leading to happiness. “Using a qualitative approach, it was acknowledged that participants of both areas shared common views e.g. the pride associated with being homeowners and living in communities that promoted a sense of belonging. However, security and living far away from the wider family system led to some cognitive pain i.e. more psychological in nature. As economies grow, the value of houses and luxury fixtures become a target for many households and this puts extra pressure on people.” Dr Sharin concludes that this is preliminary work in identifying key trends and changes of view.

Mary P. Corcoran, Professor of Sociology, National University of Ireland Maynooth, presented her paper on Narrative and visual articulations of home: dispatches from suburban fringe and small-town Ireland. The prompt for this paper was the collaboration with artist Mary Burke, where photographs of homes in two economically and geographically distinct areas were linked with interviews conducted by the author. Amongst issues of security and sense of place and belonging – defended or extended home boundaries – was the important extension that pets play in domestic life. In conclusion “this paper reveals householders to be carriers of practices that involve three different but interconnected elements: working on material objects and infrastructures, developing competence, skills and know-how about the management of home and garden and expressing meaning through their capacity to identify what is socially and symbolically significant to them in their everyday lives.”

Hafsa Rifki, PhD student, Keio University, Japan presented her paper on Belonging for international students in Japan in a situation of Disaster, from shelter to home. This was one of several papers submitted to the conference that looked at well-being and home in the context of the restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. In this case to document the reaction of international students in Japan, where despite efforts to help students access the curriculum, language and culture “inside the university, international students still suffer from a lack of preparation when facing major life’s unexpected events like accidents and disasters, deepening their state of vulnerability.” The paper looked at the specific circumstances pertaining to Japan but drew out the broader questions of how to reproduce the support networks of the student body when in restricted non-homely and often isolated accommodation. Mental health is negatively affected impacting students’ academic and personal lives and changing their perception of Japan as “a second home.”  The paper concludes by recommending further study to see how international students’ well-being can be better supported.

Farah Sharin and Zerafinas Abuhassan, Nottingham Trent University. Early comparative studies of the impact of urbanisation of heritage site communities and Indigenous People, “Orang Asli” on their home. This paper was also presented by Dr. Sharin. The studies aimed to draw out the impact and benefits of urbanization on two unique communities where changed living conditions and relocation affected understandings of home and experience of culture. Dr. Sharin explored the meaning of home and the factors affecting their home, concluding that the “effect of modernisation on their home is remarkably different to both communities. Urbanisation raises living standard, better access to improved facilities and value of their home. However, the other community suffered due to loss of their homes and faced benefits and social disparity. Importantly, modernisation can either enhance the culture preservation, but also can disconnect them from their culture and their community.”

Workshop 2: Values and Domestic Life. Moderated by Professor Maria Pia Chirinos, Director for Institutional Relations and Professor at the Department of Humanities at the University of Piura, Peru

Influence of external institutional communication on the happiness level of service recipients: A case study in the family hospitality sector. This paper was co-presented by its authors: Mª Victoria Bono López, CEICID/Universidad de Navarra, Spain and Ana Mª Blanco Marigorta, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. The purpose of the study was to check if the goal of the organization, defined as making its work “a happy family home,” is perceived as such by the recipients of the services. Findings emphasised the importance of the care represented by the activities carried out and the significance of women’s contribution to a positive home environment. “It has become clear that, in the family sphere, what really influences people’s happiness is not so much the services provided, but what is transmitted through the services.”

A mother is a living home: A stand for the family home was presented by Dr Rafael Hurtado, Universidad Panamericana, Mexico. Dr Hurtado explained his stand-point on current thinking on roles within the home and that the purpose of his paper is to “explore these social trends, aiming to identify the anti-homemaking mother discourse and confront it with a more Christian understanding of the concepts of marriage, family, and most of all the family home.”

Home activities and happiness: assessments based on meeting points between Human Resource Management (HRM) retention practices and stages of happiness, Óscar Díaz Chica, Celia Martín-Sierra and Miriam Herrero Martín, European University Miguel de Cervantes, Valladolid, Spain. The paper was co-presented by  Dr Óscar Díaz Chica and Dr Celia Martín-Sierra. The paper explores the shared needs and contributors to well-being of businesses and households recognizing that they are both built on social interrelationships. One aim of the study was to identify contributions to well-being in the business sphere and to see if this can transfer to the home sphere. Results at this stage in the study “show that job design (enrichment) is the most relevant practice in the business field in terms of momentary happiness, well-being, psychological well-being and flow….At home, however, there is no single dimension where all happiness levels score higher. Momentary happiness, subjective well-being and flow seem to be more influenced by the home’s place dimension. But in the case of psychological well-being, associated with positive mental functioning, social dimension is the one with most impact.” The authors are continuing this work with desire that home and work environments should both be places of happiness.

Workshop 3: Rediscovering Relationships in the Context of Social Changes. Moderated by Professor Agnieszka Nogal, Head of the Political Philosophy Faculty at the University of Warsaw, Poland.

Professor Aneta Gawkowska, adjunct professor at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Warsaw presented her paper: Home after/during/around the Pandemic of Individualism. The paper defines individualism as the perspective of being responsible only for oneself and the aim is to explore questions concerning the closest relationships raised – but not caused – by the coronavirus pandemic. Home is the antithesis of individualism and is dependent on solidarity. The current crisis highlights our need for the hearth of stability, relationships and unconditional acceptance – the feeling of “being at home” with others. Developing this understanding of the nature of acceptance “we all need humility, responsibility and solidarity as the fundamental glue of social ties” – within the home and beyond.

Marie Houghton, Research Assistant, Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck College, University of London presented her paper: “It’s not something that people do because they want to”: Home, satisfaction and well-being among house sharers over the age of 30. The study of single people living in house sharers conducted by the author revealed that good relationships within house-sharing made a significant contribution to well-being and a sense of “being at home.” This positive was not out-weighed by the perceived desirability of homeownership. The autonomy and security this represents stood alongside the sense that not to have achieved homeownership by the mid-thirties was is in some measure a sign of failure. Four themes emerged: Lack of control impacts on feeling at home in a house share; opportunities for caring and communal life with are valued when relationships are positive and a can be motive for remaining in shared accommodation; desire for the stability, security and autonomy of independent living grows over time; those who can afford to live alone may prefer to continue to share because of positive experiences, but many do not. This study is of interest to stand alongside evidence that living alone leads to lower levels of well-being and increased loneliness.

Maria Chiara De Nardo PhD student in the Department of Education Science at Roma Tre University presented her paper: The Home a Creative Laboratory during Covid-19.  The paper considers the crucial nature of people’s childhood home environments, the effect of lockdown on the activities of the home, and the value of the domestic context for those who live there. Feeling oneself to be at home is strongly connected to well-being. Home is the place where creativity can be fostered and this was seen during lockdown. The author links this to a rediscovery of resilience, also fostered and supported by the home, and creativity being a response to and transcendence of pain. “When home dwellers are generated, nourished and protected by the domestic environment they become more fruitful and generative” and hence contribute more to society.

Positive parenting in Covid-19 times: Understanding the Antecedents was presented by Professor Marc Grau, Faculty of Education, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya on behalf of the authorial team Marc Grau, Rita Cavallotti and Rejina M Selvam. The paper, part of a wider and longer study, identified the pre-existing context for positive parenting: family support, “belongingness”, prayer and religious life, and trust. These link to the four dimensions of positive parenting: bonding; formative; protective; reflexive. Covid-19 was not great equalizer as much depended on these family dynamics – social, emotional and financial –  before the pandemic struck. Positive parenting is linked to higher levels of well-being and to greater family resilience. Initial study of the different dimensions and related competencies show correlations between positive parenting and positive experiences during lockdown.

Workshop 4: Technology and Well-Being in the Home. Moderated by Dr Stephen Davies, Head of Education at the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA), London, UK

Dr. Kathleen Farrell, Lecturer at the Dublin Institute of Technology presented her paper on: Does Working from Home Lead to Increased Happiness? Another paper concerned with the effects of the pandemic on well-being, this time in the context of the move from workplace to home for workers. The non-monetary aspects of employment are also key drivers for people’s well-being and so should be considered when addressing the benefits of home working. These key drivers include status within an organisation, social relations, daily structure and (shared) goals. The question is whether happy people are also productive workers. Though there is evidence of increased stress and isolation in remote workers the flexibility of working from home is widely seen as positive. References to the work-life balance and the inner work life draw out some of these drawbacks and benefits. “It is imperative for the well-being and happiness of employees that they take time out to recharge and disconnect but there can be a delay in doing so for fear of consequences which is one of the challenges facing us.”

 Teresita Abay Krueger is a senior business development professional and on the executive board of the Murray Hill Institute in South Carolina presented her paper: On Making Artificial Intelligence (AI) Work for the Smart Home. AI should is best seen as augmenting our intelligence. The necessity is to be proactive in designing and deciding what we need rather than being fearful about it. The third wave of AI has major – and with discernment, welcome – implications for the home. By using three illustrative vignettes the author explained the positive collaborative approach required to make the most of this opportunity.

Dr Ilaria Malagino, Bio-Medico University in Rome presented her paper on: Smart Homes and Domestic Wellbeing: What has been lost? The sense of self develops as a “feeling at home” in our bodies and in nurturing environments. Homemaking may be seen as reshaping the environments that support human life. Technological innovations are counted among these efforts, but although the perception is that they should make our lives and homes more comfortable, it is important to understand the nature of “comfort” in terms of truly “feeling at home.” It may be that we are disorientated and made less secure by some of these innovations.  The paper argues that we need “to apply the identified characteristics of domesticity in order to understand what has been lost in the contemporary world and to design an ethic of homemaking that does not exclude but integrates and develops the technology potential.”

Rose Marroncelli, PhD researcher and associate lecturer. Nottingham Trent University presented her paper on: Working from Home: Clothing choice and happiness. Diaries were kept by people working from home during the pandemic. The study looked at how clothing choices had changed from the office to the home working context, alongside issues of emotional attachment and motivation. There were connections between clothing choices and mood and productivity and questions about how clothes help define the boundaries between working and leisure time.

We are grateful to all those participating in these workshops for such strong and fascinating approaches to the question of the relationship between home and happiness/well-being. Selected papers will be incorporated into a publication which will give a formal shape and detailed content in response to this question. For now we can say with confidence that what happens in the home is of the most vital importance for the happiness of every individual and family, and the wider worlds in which they find themselves as employees, citizens and the next generation of homemakers.

One week ago, Home Renaissance Foundation in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University launched its latest book ‘People, Care and Work in the Home’ in a virtual event that is now available on our YouTube Channel.

The contributions were very enriching. However, if you do not have much free time, but would like to learn more, two of the keynotes are available separately:

‘My Home, My Life’ by Sheila, Baroness Hollins, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry of Disability at St George’s University of London https://youtu.be/GoqxXZJIKRI

‘A Home for Later Life’ by Richard, Lord Best, co-chairman the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People https://youtu.be/UW33fCCDv5c

Some highlights:

• Bryan K. Sanderson CBE

“The home provides a base, which is secure, and a refuge for anybody who is part of it. So, we are talking about the protection of the family.”

• Prof. Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem

“The book has a clear agenda, which is trying to address societal challenges to the Home. Home as a center to society and to center to its transformation.”

• Richard, Lord Best

“Before Covid 19 I was already saying how significant the home was for those in later life. Home is for them the place where they are going to spend the rest of their lives. How important it is to have a home where you can flourish and thrive and not suffer.”

• Sheila, Baroness Hollins

“A truly caring society would welcome and celebrate difference in human beings. But how many people know what has been happening to people with intellectual disabilities during the pandemic. The mortality rate for these people has been similar or higher than the mortality rate for over 65.”

• Prof. Antonio Argandoña

“The work in the home cannot be correctly understood if it is not considered, that we are rational social animals, that we seek autonomy but also we suffer from our vulnerability. In the home, the autonomy of some individuals is at the service of the dependency of others. In the home, love is the main virtue, and the relationships are led by generosity and care.”

Enjoy and share this wonderful content with your network.

Together, Homes are stronger!

In 2020 we published our second book “People, Care and Work in the Home”. It would be hard to find a more important time for its publication. Covid19 brought to the forefront of all our lives the importance of the home and the people, work and care that happens within them.

We launched the book worldwide via Zoom on Thursday, January 21 in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University. The editors and some of the authors participated and the whole event is now available on our youtube chanel. Click here. 

The book, published with Routledge, brings together academic and professional expertise in these fields, first gathered at the 2017 4th International HRF Conference: “A Home, a place of growth, care and wellbeing.”

What was clear at the conference was that these vital things – growth and wellbeing – do not just “happen.” For strong, healthy individuals, families, and communities there needs to be attention paid and support given to the frontline of where these patterns begin – at home.

Professor Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem, Professor and Chair in Architecture at Nottingham Trent University, and Professor Antonio Argandoña, Emeritus Professor of Economics and Business Ethics at IESE Business School, editors of People, Care and Work in the Home worked with contributors to bring to wider attention this multidisciplinary approach to society’s key building blocks.

Lord Best, co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People, stresses the need for “right-sizing” in homes for later life. Baroness Hollins, Emeritus Professor of the Psychiatry and Disability,  speaks from the personal and professional experience of the value of homes for those with intellectual disabilities: My home, my life.

This recent pandemic, the lockdown and enforced time at home together have given new energy to those determined to champion the unique and priceless role it plays in our lives and the work involved in making it happen. In the words of Professor Argandoña:

“The home grows with solidarity, sharing everything. And the most complete way of sharing is love, that is, to take care of others. That is what we learn at home throughout our lives, although in a different way at each stage of that life. In this period of confinement, we have learned to live together, ignoring the deficiencies of others; to share, that is, to give and give ourselves.”

People, Care and Work in the Home is a very important articulation of that insight to inform both research and policy in how we value what is given and what is received at home.

We can be happy, despite everything we are experiencing

• Homes are the fundamental basis as a source of security in our lives
• Happiness = Care + Empathy + Home
• Happiness in our homes is being greatly influenced by digital media and technologies
• Classical model allows us to analyse the impact of households in the public sphere
• The neighbourhood is the right community for home-society relationships
• Different ideologies have been modifying the structure of our homes

London Nov 13. We can be happy, despite everything we are experiencing. This is the first big conclusion we reached after two days talking about happiness in the home and how domestic life contributes to the happiness of society. The topic was chosen before the pandemic hit, but it has only reinforced the importance of research in this area. “To a great extent our happiness depends on our attitude towards life, on how we face, take care of and work on our personal relationships at home. A place that constitutes the fundamental base as a source of security in our lives”, according to Lord Layard and Prof. Chirinos, who also drew strong connections between the home, work and care as key to human flourishing. Outlining the specific contribution of these areas, she sees the home as the place where both work ethics and the empathy for care are learnt and developed.

Prof. Wessels and Prof. Bakardjieva also agree on this, they are clear that the entry of new technologies into the home has eroded our family lives, has caused inequalities and what seem to be connected homes could well be the opposite. The use that we make of these digital media and on how we understand that connectivity, our happiness will depend.

From a philosophical point of view and taking into account the contributions of Prof. Nogal and Dr. Thunder, the influence of our private lives in the public sphere can be seen. She argues that we have to return to classical model to find that relationship, for without a doubt the part individuals play in society depends upon the early formative influences of home. According to Dr. Thunder, the way in which the person is incorporated into society and establishes ties with the outside world is very well articulated through an intermediate community – the neighbourhood.

But none of this would make sense if we did not also understand how our homes are structured and why spaces are distributed as we now know them. A historical and sociological review by Dr. Davies analysed how our houses have been built throughout history based on the dominant ideologies in each era.

Academics and experts from different perspectives presented their research through video accessible on our website and social networks. The next steps of this Conference will be workshops and a new publication as the fruit of this research. Paper givers from nine different countries will participate in the online workshops to be held in 2021 in which they will share their studies. The Scientific Committee will select papers to contribute to future publication.

To date, Home Renaissance Foundation has published numerous working papers available on our website and two books:
The Home: Multidisciplinary Reflections by Edgar Publishing
People, Care and Work in the Home by Routledge Publishing
A third. The Home in the Digital Age is currently being prepared for publication.

Any queries, please contact: Ángela de Miguel Press@homerenaissancefoundation.org

On November 12th and 13th, the international think tank Home Renaissance Foundation, supported by the Social Trends Institute, will hold its 5th Academic and Interdisciplinary Conference “Happy Homes, Happy Society? The contribution of domestic life in a time of social changes.”

AGENDA CONFERENCE

Academics and experts from different perspectives will present their research through video accessible on our website and social networks. The renowned economist Lord Layard, as a part of his contribution, will highlight the need for policies to support parents and children as these are the key relationships in promoting happiness and well-being in the home for individuals, families and wider society.

From the point of view of Communication and new technologies, Prof. Bakardjieva will analyse to what extent digital media have invaded and eroded our private sphere and how they have changed our relationships and even our domestic activity. Prof. Wessels will focus on the ways in which the increasing use and reliance on digital connectivity and data-driven services is underpinning developments of ‘connected homes’. ‘Feeling at home’ summarises the multidimensionality of wellbeing. It conveys how material living standards, services, information, security, communication, relationships and companionship create homes.

The philosopher Maria Pia Chirinos will delve into the importance of the recognition of care by citizens to achieve a more humanised society. We come from the era described as “the civilization of work” and according to Chirinos care should be recognised as a property of all human work, and as a key to humanising a civilization that has made technology and environment into its gods.

Dr. Thunder reflects on the role of the neighbourhood as a specific dimension for a healthy relationship between the home and its members and society at large. The differences between the terms family, home, community and society will be exposed.

Dr. Davies will put the historical point of view in this conference with an analysis of the structure of homes and why. He assures that there is evidence that shows that happy homes make for a happy society but that even in the way houses are designed there are economic, social, political, or ideological influences. It states that the design of a home is derived from pre-established ideas about how people should live and what the nature of their family should be.

Finally, Prof. Agnieszka Nogal from Political Philosophy suggests turning to the classical model of thought to find a relationship between households and the public sphere since liberal theory does not conceptualize this relationship. Prof. Nogal affirms that homes are essential for public space since they are the place where not only children, but every citizen grows and develops.

Researchers from 9 different countries have sent their papers and will participate in the online workshops to be held in 2021 in which they will share their studies.

As a result of the work of the contributing academics and a selection of papers by the Scientific Committee, a new publication will be worked on. To date, Home Renaissance Foundation has published numerous working papers available on our website and two books:

The Home: Multidisciplinary Reflections by Edgar Publishing

People, Care and Work in the Home by Routledge Publishing

The third will be published soon.

For any additional information or possible interview with speakers or HRF members, you can contact us at press@homerenaissancefoundation.org

With just one month left until the celebration of our 5^th Academic Conference “Happy Homes, Happy Society? The contribution of domestic life in a time of social changes” supported by the Social Trends Institute, we would like to inform you of how it will finally be carried out, taking into account the difficulties that COVID-19 has imposed on us.

On November 12 and 13 we will not be able to meet face to face as we had already announced, but both on Thursday and Friday we will publish on our website in video format a summary of the presentations of our academics and an abstract of their papers.

The agenda will be as follows:

• Thursday 12th November

Welcome by our Chairman Bryan K. Sanderson, CBE

Keynote Lord Richard Layard, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Director of the Centre’s Wellbeing Programme

Professor María Pia Chirinos, Director for Institutional Relations and Professor at the Department of Humanities at the University of Piura, Perú | Presenting on: Care, Flourishing, Happiness: the Challenge at Home in Everyday Life

Doctor Stephen Davies, Head of Education at the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) | Presenting on: Happiness and the Structure of the Home

• Friday 13th November

Professor Maria Bakardjieva, Professor and Chair in Communication and Media Studies at the University of Calgary, Canada | Presenting on: Home Implosion: Digital Media and the Reinvention of the Private Sphere

Professor Bridgette Wessels, Professor of Social Inequalities at the University of Glasgow | Presenting on: Creating meaningful connected homes: the relationships and dynamics of household-digital technology interactions in fostering wellbeing

Professor Agnieszka Nogal, Head of the Political Philosophy Faculty at the University of Warsaw | Presenting on: The impact of domestic happiness on public space

David Thunder, Researcher and lecturer in political and social philosophy at the Institute for Culture and Society, University of Navarra | Presenting on: The “Neighbourhood” as a Pivotal Element of the Infrastructure of a Flourishing Society

Before the end of the year, the Scientific Committee will assign a workshop to the paper givers who are participating by sending your full paper. Those will be held online at the beginning of 2021 to give you the opportunity to share and disseminate your work with other researchers. The workshops will be moderated by academics from the corresponding discipline. Subsequently, the papers that will be part of the next publication will be announced.

We will publish on our social networks all the content related to the Conference and the main messages of our academics, so you can always find all the information on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. The hashtags will be #hrfconference2020 and #HappyHomeHappySociety We encourage you to follow us and to please mention us in your messages.

A perspective from Poland. We are delighted that our report has now been translated into Polish, with the significant contributions of “voices” from Poland, including an introduction by Barbara Socha, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. We are grateful to all our Polish contributors and translators, and to co-editor Marta Ponikowska.

Please, find the report here to share with your own Polish contacts and networks. One thing that the pandemic has taught us is that the home has no frontiers; wherever we are in the world we have all needed what our homes have offered. As the lockdown slowly lifts, we must remember these lessons and build on them for a continuing global and local valuing of home.

Polish Version

English Version

Spanish Version

To buy the book now

It would be hard to find a more important time for the publication of People, Care and Work in the Home. These last months have brought to the forefront of all our lives the importance of the home and the people, work and care that happens within them.

The book, published this week with Routledge, brings together academic and professional expertise in these fields, first gathered at the 2017 4th International HRF Conference: “A Home, a place of growth, care and wellbeing.”

What was clear at the conference was that these vital things – growth and wellbeing  – do not just “happen.” For strong, healthy individuals, families and communities there needs to be attention paid and support given to the frontline of where these patterns begin – at home.

Professor Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem and Professor Antonio Argandoña, editors of People, Care and Work in the Home have worked with contributors to bring to wider attention this multidisciplinary approach to society’s key building blocks.

Sir Harry Burns, professor of Global Public Health at the University of Strathclyde, and former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, underlines the importance of home for life-long health and healthy relationships in his contribution to the publication:

“From the outside, a home is simply a building. It’s inside that the magic happens. If a home is a place where children feel safe and happy, they will learn they are loved and respected and, as a result, they are likely to grow up to love and respect others. They will grow in health and wellbeing and develop a sense of purpose, allowing them to make decisions as to the future direction of their lives. Children who experience a nurturing, safe upbringing are likely, as adults, to create a positive home environment for their own children and so, positive outcomes for families are handed on to the next generation.”

If those early experiences are not positive the results are less happy, less healthy for individuals and for society – examples of which are not hard to find.

This recent pandemic, the lockdown and enforced time at home together has given new energy to those determined to champion the unique and priceless role it plays in our lives. In the words of Professor Argandoña:

“The home grows with solidarity, sharing everything. And the most complete way of sharing is love, that is, to take care of others. That is what we learn at home throughout our lives, although in a different way at each stage of that life. In this period of confinement we have learned to live together, ignoring the deficiencies of others; to share, that is, to give and give ourselves.”

People, Care and Work in the Home is a very important articulation of that insight to inform both research and policy in how we value what is given and what is received at home.