"Better work-life balance leads to reduced stress for workers and increased productivity. It is not just an issue of importance to the individual, it is also of strategic importance to our economy. Indeed, a future shortage of workers and skills is likely to force our economy to adopt successful work-life balance policies", warned Ireland's Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern in his keynote speech on the opening day of the Foundation Forum 2004, held in Dublin on 3-4 November 2004.

Acting Director of the Foundation, Willy Buschak, called for fresh thinking and new ideas to deal with what he called "obstacles to our attempts to meet the Lisbon targets". Particular challenges include the ageing of the Eurpean Union workforce, the need to develop a knowledge-based society and to improve productivity.

"Do we really need to divide work and life?" asked Mr Vlado Dimovski, Minister of Labour, Family, and Social Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia. If in the industrial age work and life was divided, in the new knowledge economy "life is becoming work and work is becoming life. Life is changing radically, with different family types and the increased participation of women in the workforce. While there was general agreement that we will probably need to work longer in the future - we also need to work smarter."

Established as a platform for top-level debate, the first Forum held in 2002 in Dublin, it gathers international policymakers, government leaders, social partners, researchers and other high-level actors to exchange experiences. The Foundation Forum is a biennial event supported by the Irish government.

Reports from parallel debates on specific work-life issues debated at the Foundation Forum are online on PDF format.