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that they are associated with tertiary education, and not with lower
levels of attainment. At the country level, individuals who are not cur-
rently in a partnership in Lithuania and, to a lesser extent in Switzerland,
and individuals who are childless in Portugal, are more likely to develop
Work-oriented configurations. Thus the absence of partner and children
may translate into a stronger focus on the work sphere for some indi-
viduals. The Work- oriented configuration can be illustrated by the case
of a focal person living in a city in the German-speaking part of
Switzerland. She is a Swiss woman belonging to the older cohort who
completed tertiary education and now holds a management position.
She has a partner, but she does not cohabit with him. Her partner is 11
years older than she is and has children; they have known each other for
8 years. Regarding her demographic reservoir, her father is deceased;
she has a brother and does not have children of her own. In her per-
sonal configuration, she mentioned her mother (88 years old), her part-
ner, a male colleague, and a female friend. We can see in Fig. 5.4, which
shows the interaction ties between the focus person and her configura-
tion members, that there are dense interactions between her mother,
her partner, her female friend, and herself, while her colleague is only
linked to her. Her personal life brings together different social spheres
related to family, leisure, and work.
Fig. 5.4 Interaction in a Work-oriented configuration, Switzerland
G. Aeby et al.