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Job Satisfaction and Family Happiness: The Part-time Work Puzzle

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Author Info
Alison L. Booth
Jan C. van Ours

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Abstract

Using fixed effects ordered logit estimation, we investigate the relationship between part-time work and working hours satisfaction; job satisfaction; and life satisfaction. We account for interdependence within the family using data on partnered men and women from the British Household Panel Survey. We find that men have the highest hours-of-work satisfaction if they work full-time without overtime hours but neither their job satisfaction nor their life satisfaction are affected by how many hours they work. Life satisfaction is influenced only by whether or not they have a job. For women we are confronted with a puzzle. Hours satisfaction and job satisfaction indicate that women prefer part-time jobs irrespective of whether these are small or large. In contrast, female life satisfaction is virtually unaffected by hours of work. Women without children do not care about their hours of work at all, while women with children are significantly happier if they have a job regardless of how many hours it entails.

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File URL: http://www.economics.unimelb.edu.au/SITE/research/workingpapers/wp07/1000.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by The University of Melbourne in its series Department of Economics - Working Papers Series with number 1000.

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Length: 37 pages
Date of creation: 2007
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Handle: RePEc:mlb:wpaper:1000

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Postal: Department of Economics, The University of Melbourne, 5th Floor, Economics and Commerce Building, Victoria, 3010, Australia
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Web page: http://www.economics.unimelb.edu.au
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Related research
Keywords: part-time work; happiness; satisfaction; working hours; gender;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare
J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

References listed on IDEAS
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  15. Joan R. Rodgers, 2004. "Hourly Wages of full-time and part-time employees in Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), The Centre for Labour Market Research (CLMR), Curtin Business School, vol. 7(2), pages 231-254, June.
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  22. Booth, Alison L & van Ours, Jan C, 2005. "Hours of Work and Gender Identity: Does Part-Time Work Make the Family Happier?," CEPR Discussion Papers 5438, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. repec:ese:iserwp: is not listed on IDEAS
  2. Finbarr Brereton & J. Peter Clinch & Susana Ferreira, 2008. "Employment and Life-Satisfaction: Insights from Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 39(3), pages 207-234. [Downloadable!]
  3. Isacsson, Gunnar & Karlström, Anders & Swärdh, Jan-Erik, 2008. "The value of time from subjective data on life satisfaction and job satisfaction: An empirical assessment," Working Papers 2008:2, Swedish National Road & Transport Research Institute (VTI). [Downloadable!]
  4. Colin P. Green & Gareth D. Leeves, 2009. "Scarring, Habituation and Social Exclusion: Work Histories in Secure and Insecure Employment," Discussion Papers Series 385, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia. [Downloadable!]
  5. Colin Green & Gareth Leeves & P Kler, 2008. "Flexible contract workers in inferior jobs: reappraising the evidence," Working Papers 005350, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department. [Downloadable!]
  6. Eva M. Berger, 2009. "Maternal Employment and Happiness: The Effect of Non-Participation and Part-Time Employment on Mothers' Life Satisfaction," SOEPpapers 178, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). [Downloadable!]
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  7. Fernández-Kranz, Daniel & Rodriguez-Planas, Nuria, 2009. "The Part-Time Pay Penalty in a Segmented Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 4342, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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