The average person spends more than one-third of their life working. Considering that work plays a central role in our lives, many of us are concerned about choosing career paths that are... Show moreThe average person spends more than one-third of their life working. Considering that work plays a central role in our lives, many of us are concerned about choosing career paths that are sustainable. However, as much as we want to, we cannot craft sustainable careers by simply making the right career decisions. Our careers are continuously affected by less controllable aspects in our lives, such as societal changes and the organization we work for. To understand what makes careers sustainable, we need to investigate how the person together with other contextual stakeholders can influence sustainable careers. This dissertation consists of four empirical chapters that study the consequences of a number of contemporary career choices made by the individual, such as working from home and becoming self-employed, and the influence of supervisors and society on sustainable careers. Additionally, this thesis sheds light on the challenges that certain minority group members face in building a sustainable career. The findings demonstrate that contemporary work forms, such as working from home, have the potential to promote sustainable careers but only if supervisors support individuals’ decisions. Moreover, this dissertation shows that women and non-parents may face greater challenges in crafting a sustainable career. Show less
Straightjacket discusses how Chinese same-sex-oriented persons deal with family law. It asks how they respond to the pressure of getting married, giving birth and securing eldercare. Instead of... Show moreStraightjacket discusses how Chinese same-sex-oriented persons deal with family law. It asks how they respond to the pressure of getting married, giving birth and securing eldercare. Instead of seeing this ‘straight’ life path only as oppression, the author highlights the seductive legal and social benefits it offers. The interdisciplinary study combines rigorous legal analysis with the vivid life stories of more than 60 respondents interviewed in ethnographic fieldwork. It depicts how Chinese same-sex-oriented people obey, utilize and/or resist the legal and social norms on marriage, parenthood and eldercare. This study reflects on controversial issues such as cooperative marriage (xinghun, between lesbian woman and gay man) and 'fraudulent' marriage (pianhun, between same-sex-oriented man and ‘unwitting’ straight woman). In this context, it problematizes the binaries of in/out, gay/straight and lie/truth produced by the ‘epistemology of the closet’. This thesis therefore calls for a beyond-marriage approach of legal reform, so as to benefit both same-sex couples and other non-normative relationships. This is a volume in the series of the Meijers Research Institute and Graduate School of the Leiden Law School of Leiden University. This study is part of the Law School’s research programme ‘Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a pluralist world’. Show less
