Researching unpaid labour within paid employment: a mixed method exploratory sequential approach

Scholars have pointed to the rise of work arrangements that blur the dichotomy of paid and unpaid labour, namely, unpaid labour within paid employment. However, literature has been limited to theoretical understandings of such and there has been an absence of measurement tools with which to empirically examine its form and extent. Addressing this gap, this chapter uses a mixed-method exploratory sequential approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methodology to empirically examine this phenomenon. We first employ Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM) to generate data on the forms and extent of unpaid labour. In the second stage, based on the newly-grounded theory, we develop a standardised multi-indicator survey instrument for measuring unpaid labour in paid employment. Subsequently, we validate the instrument using Latent Class Analysis (LCA) through which we analyse different types of unpaid labour in paid employment in the United Kingdom.