Working‐time preferences among women: Challenging assumptions on underemployment, work centrality and work–life balance

Abstract

This article examines the working‐time preferences of women working 20‐hour weeks, on different, stable schedules, in manufacturing jobs. The authors conducted qualitative and quantitative research to identify worker profiles based on these women's working‐time preferences and the reasons for them. Their findings add nuance to previous research by highlighting that: (1) some, but not all, of these employees can be considered underemployed; (2) working 20 hours a week does not equate to low work centrality and is compatible with working hours being experienced as meaningful; (3) some part‐time women workers want to keep time for non‐caring, non‐working activities despite earning a low salary.

Underemployment and overemployment in Central Europe

“…This research addressed the issue of working hours discrepancies in selected Central European countries, specifically in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Building on the neoclassical labour market economics theoretical assumptions and previous empirical studies (Reynolds and Aletraris, 2010;Campbell and van Wanrooy, 2013;Lamolla et al, 2021), we provide evidence from the post-communist countries having higher shares of overemployed and underemployed workers (Green and Henseke, 2021). Studying factors and characteristics impacting employees whose working hours are mismatched is relevant for the employees.…”

“…However, interpreted together with the insignificant effects of children and household-specific variables, it looks like in the studied Central European countries, the phenomenon seems to be more complex. These linkages could be explored more with the qualitative research approach, for example, through semi-structured interviews or focus groups, providing insights into career development desires and looking beyond statistical patterns (Campbell and van Wanrooy, 2013;Lamolla et al, 2021). Another future research recommendation would be to study couples together and see how they cope with household and family duties and mutually determine their working hours (Steiber and Haas, 2018).…”

“…The labour market equilibrium is reached through price adjustments (i.e., wages and salaries). Despite these theoretical assumptions, empirical researchers with a background from various disciplines (Zimmer and Weber, 2021;Lamolla et al, 2021;Otterbach et al, 2021) observe differences between the preferred/desired working hours and the actual time the employees spend at work. The earlier research divided the mismatch in working hours into two main phenomena.…”

“…Notably, wider stakeholders, including policymakers, are interested in the research on working hours discrepancies due to the effects of working hours mismatches on individual careers, income, satisfaction and income (Bartoll and Ramos, 2020;Lamolla et al, 2021). A recent study by Otterbach et al (2021) concludes that overemployment is associated with lower levels of mental health.…”