IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/brjirl/v43y2005i2p273-295.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Work–Life Balance and the Demand for Reduction in Working Hours: Evidence from the British Social Attitudes Survey 2002

Author

Listed:
  • John MacInnes

Abstract

Work–life balance policies aimed at reducing working hours are often assumed to be of particular interest to workers with family responsibilities such as young children. Although workers in Britain report the kind of time‐stress envisaged by the debate over a ‘long‐hours culture’, there is little relationship between workers’ family situation and preferences for working fewer hours. Women workers’ hours already reflect family commitments to some extent, while families with young children may need the income levels that only substantial working hours bring. Conversely workers without family commitments may have more capacity to swap income or career progression for increased leisure time.

Suggested Citation

  • John MacInnes, 2005. "Work–Life Balance and the Demand for Reduction in Working Hours: Evidence from the British Social Attitudes Survey 2002," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(2), pages 273-295, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:43:y:2005:i:2:p:273-295
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2005.00355.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2005.00355.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2005.00355.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gerhard BOSCH, 1999. "Working time: Tendencies and emerging issues," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 138(2), pages 131-149, June.
    2. Francis Green, 2001. "It’s Been A Hard Day’s Night: The Concentration and Intensification of Work in Late Twentieth‐Century Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 39(1), pages 53-80, March.
    3. Joëlle Sleebos, 2003. "Low Fertility Rates in OECD Countries: Facts and Policy Responses," OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers 15, OECD Publishing.
    4. Pedro Mira & Namkee Ahn, 2002. "A note on the changing relationship between fertility and female employment rates in developed countries," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 15(4), pages 667-682.
    5. Paul Demeny, 2003. "Population Policy Dilemmas in Europe at the Dawn of the Twenty‐First Century," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 29(1), pages 1-28, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Surhan Cam, 2014. "The Underemployed: Evidence From the UK Labour Force Survey for a Conditionally Gendered Top-down Model," Journal of Social Science Studies, Macrothink Institute, vol. 1(2), pages 47-65, July.
    2. Daniel Hoppe & Helen Keller & Felix Horstmann, 2022. "Got Employer Image? How Applicants Choose Their Employer," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(2), pages 139-159, May.
    3. Frances McGinnity & Emma Calvert, 2008. "Yuppie Kvetch? Work-life Conflict and Social Class in Western Europe," Papers WP239, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    4. Parker, Louise & Watson, Duncan & Webb, Robert, 2011. "Family fortunes: Gender-based differences in the impact of employment and home characteristics on satisfaction levels," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 259-264, May.
    5. Dan Wheatley & Irene Hardill & Bruce Philp, 2008. "Managing reductions in working hours: a study of work-time and leisure preferences in UK industry," NBS Discussion Papers in Economics 2008/5, Economics, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University.
    6. Zubovic, Jovan, 2010. "Razvoj privrede zasnovan na ulaganjima u ljudske resurse i stranim investicijama [Economic Growth Based on Investments in Human Resources and Foreign Investments]," MPRA Paper 64092, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Linda McKie & Gill Hogg & Laura Airey & Kathryn Backett-Milburn & Zoe Rew, 2009. "Autonomy, control and job advancement," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 23(4), pages 787-796, December.
    8. PUDARUTH Sharmila & JUWAHEER Thanika Devi & NUNKOO Robin & VENCATACHELLUM I, 2017. "Non Standard Work Practices And Its Impact On Children Development, Family Functioning And Health And Safety Concerns In A 24/7 Economy," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 12(2), pages 155-175, August.
    9. Heywood, John S. & Siebert, W. Stanley & Wei, Xiangdong, 2005. "High Performance Workplaces and Family Friendly Practices: Promises Made and Promises Kept," IZA Discussion Papers 1812, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Ethel N Abe & Ziska Fields & Isaac I Abe, 2017. "The Efficacy of Wellness Programmes as Work-Life Balance Strategies in the South African Public Service," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 8(6), pages 52-67.
    11. Fang, Tony & Lee, Byron & Timming, Andrew R. & Fan, Di, 2019. "The Effects of Work-Life Benefits on Employment Outcomes in Canada: A Multivariate Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 12322, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Del Boca, Daniela & Locatelli, Marilena, 2006. "The Determinants of Motherhood and Work Status: A Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 2414, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Angela Luci-Greulich & Olivier Thévenon, 2013. "The Impact of Family Policies on Fertility Trends in Developed Countries," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 29(4), pages 387-416, November.
    3. Masaya Yasuoka, 2014. "Child-care Policies and Pension in an Endogenous Fertility Model," Discussion Paper Series 114, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University, revised Jan 2014.
    4. Hippolyte d'Albis & Angela Luci Greulich & Grégory Ponthière, 2015. "Avoir un enfant plus tard: Enjeux sociodémographiques du report des naissances," Post-Print halshs-01245523, HAL.
    5. Hippolyte D'Albis & Angela Greulich & Grégory Ponthière, 2015. "AVOIR UN ENFANT PLUS TARD Enjeux sociodémographiques du report des naissances," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01298929, HAL.
    6. Atsushi Miyake & Masaya Yasuoka, 2016. "Which Should the Government Subsidize: Child Care or Elderly Care?," Discussion Paper Series 144, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University, revised Jun 2016.
    7. Nicola H lskamp, 2006. "Fertility and the Influence of Women s Industries," LIS Working papers 434, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    8. Heywood, John S. & Siebert, W. Stanley & Wei, Xiangdong, 2005. "High Performance Workplaces and Family Friendly Practices: Promises Made and Promises Kept," IZA Discussion Papers 1812, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Rondinelli, Concetta & Aassve, Arnstein & C. Billari, Francesco, 2006. "Income and childbearing decisions: evidence from Italy," ISER Working Paper Series 2006-06, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    10. Eiji Yamamura, 2011. "Corruption and Fertility: Evidence from OECD countries," Journal of Economics and Econometrics, Economics and Econometrics Society, vol. 54(2), pages 34-57.
    11. Martin Bujard, 2011. "Family Policy And Demographic Effects: The Case Of Germany," Demográfia English Edition, Hungarian Demographic Research Institute, vol. 54(5), pages 56-78.
    12. Jan M. Hoem, 2008. "Overview Chapter 8: The impact of public policies on European fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(10), pages 249-260.
    13. Cosmin Enache, 2013. "Family and Childcare Support Public Expenditures and Short-Term Fertility Dynamics," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 60(3), pages 347-364, May.
    14. Agnese Vitali & Francesco C. Billari & Alexia Prskawetz & Maria Rita Testa, 2009. "Preference Theory and Low Fertility: A Comparative Perspective," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 25(4), pages 413-438, November.
    15. Masaya Yasuoka & Naohisa Goto, 2015. "How is the child allowance to be financed? By income tax or consumption tax?," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 62(3), pages 249-269, September.
    16. Volker Meier, 2005. "The impact of family policies on fertility: An international comparison Study commissioned by the Robert Bosch Foundation," ifo Forschungsberichte, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 26.
    17. repec:hal:journl:hal-01298929 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Eva Beaujouan & Caroline Berghammer, 2019. "The Gap Between Lifetime Fertility Intentions and Completed Fertility in Europe and the United States: A Cohort Approach," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 38(4), pages 507-535, August.
    19. Marcén, Miriam & Molina, José Alberto & Morales, Marina, 2018. "The effect of culture on the fertility decisions of immigrant women in the United States," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 15-28.
    20. Larry E. Jones & Michele Tertilt, 2006. "An Economic History of Fertility in the U.S.: 1826-1960," NBER Working Papers 12796, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Kuang-Ta Lo, 2012. "The Crowding-out Effect of Homeownership on Fertility," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 108-117, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:43:y:2005:i:2:p:273-295. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.