Zitatform

Borjas, George J. & Daniel S. Hamermesh (2024): The Mismeasurement of Work Time: Implications for Wage Discrimination and Inequality. (NBER working paper / National Bureau of Economic Research 32025), Cambridge, Mass, 44 S.

Abstract

"Comparing measures of work time in the recall CPS-ASEC data with contemporaneous measures reveals many logical inconsistencies and probable errors. About 8 percent of ASEC respondents report weeks worked last year that contradict their current work histories in the Basic monthly interviews; the error rate is over 50 percent among workers who move in and out of the workforce. Over 20 percent give contradictory information about whether they usually work a full-time weekly schedule. Part of the inconsistency arises because an increasing fraction of ASEC respondents (over 20 percent by 2018) consists of people whose record was fully imputed. The levels and trends of the errors differ by gender and race, and they affect measured wage differentials between 1978 to 2018. Adjusting for the errors and imputations, gender wage gaps among all workers narrowed by 4 log points more than is commonly reported, and residual wage inequality decreased by 6 log points more. In a very carefully defined sample of full-time year-round workers, gender and racial wage differentials narrowed slightly less than previously estimated using ASEC data, but much more than indicated by commonly used estimates from CPS Outgoing Rotation Groups." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Cai, Julie (2024): Work Hours Volatility and Child Poverty: The Potential Mitigating Role of Safety Net Programs. In: Social forces, Jg. 102, H. 3, S. 902-925. DOI:10.1093/sf/soad109

Abstract

"Despite established links among persistent unemployment, low wages, and children’s economic well-being, social scientists have yet to document how variability in work hours is linked to child poverty. Our knowledge of the safety net’s heterogeneous responses to work-hour instability is also limited. This is of critical importance for scholars and policymakers. Using nationally representative data collected every 4 months, this paper examines how intra-year work-hour volatility is related to child poverty, measured through both the official poverty measure (OPM) and the supplemental poverty measure (SPM). It further assesses varying degrees of buffering effects of cash, in-kind benefits, and tax transfers on income in the context of work-hour volatility. Results indicate that more than one in four households (26%) facing the greatest volatility lived under the poverty line. Black and Hispanic children, as well as those living with unpartnered single mothers, faced substantially higher variability in household market hours worked. Hispanic children experienced not only greater volatility in their caregivers’ work hours but also higher poverty level, even after taking government programs into account. In-kind benefits are more effective in buffering household income declines resulting from unstable work hours, followed by tax transfers and cash benefits. The effectiveness of near-cash benefits is particularly salient among Black children and children of single mothers. These results provide new evidence to inform policy discussions surrounding the best ways to help socioeconomically disadvantaged families to retain benefits and smooth their income in the face of frequent variation in work hours and, thus, earnings." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Cho, Hyojin, Susan J. Lambert, Emily Ellis & Julia R. Henly (2024): How Work Hour Variability Matters for Work-to-Family Conflict. In: Work, Employment and Society online erschienen am 09.01.2024, S. 1-25. DOI:10.1177/09500170231218191

Abstract

"Variable work hours are an understudied source of work-to-family conflict (WFC). We examine the relationships between the magnitude and direction of work hour variability and WFC and whether work hour control and schedule predictability moderate these relationships. We estimate a series of linear regressions using the 2016 US General Social Survey, examining women and men workers separately and together. Findings indicate that as the magnitude of work hour variability increases, so does WFC, controlling for the usual number of hours worked. Work hour control helps to protect workers, especially women, from WFC when work hour variability is high and hours surge. Although schedule predictability tempers the relationship between work hour variability and WFC, its potency diminishes as variability increases. Our study emphasizes the potential benefit to workers and families of government policies and employer practices that promote work hour stability, schedule predictability, and equity in employee work hour control." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Cotofan, Maria & Konstantinos Matakos (2023): Adapting or compounding? The effects of recurring labour shocks on stated and revealed preferences for redistribution. (CEP discussion paper / Centre for Economic Performance 1957), London, 34 S.

Abstract

"The evidence on the impact of employment shocks on preferences for redistribution is mixed on stated outcomes and sparse on revealed ones. We conduct a survey of US workers to measure the impact of repeated labour market shocks on both stated and revealed redistributive preferences. We measure the former by support on seven different policies and the latter through donations. We look at experiences of both mild shocks (having to reduce working hours) and hard shocks (unemployment), as well as past unemployment during formative years. We find evidence of adaptation to unemployment on policy preferences and compounding for milder shocks on donations, suggesting that the effects of repeated shocks on preferences for redistribution are not independent. Our results show that unemployment impacts preferences in a self-interested way, while milder shocks lead to broader support for redistribution." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Elvery, Joel A., C. Lockwood Reynolds & Shawn M. Rohlin (2023): Employer Wage Subsidy Caps and Part-Time Work. In: ILR review, Jg. 76, H. 1, S. 189-209. DOI:10.1177/00197939221102865

Abstract

"Using tract-level US Census data and triple-difference estimators, the authors test whether firms increase their use of part-time workers when faced with capped wage subsidies. By limiting the maximum subsidy per worker, such subsidies create incentives for firms to increase the share of their payroll that is eligible for the subsidy by increasing use of part-time or low-wage workers. Results suggest that firms located in federal Empowerment Zones in the United States responded to the program’s capped wage subsidies by expanding their use of part-time workers, particularly in locations where the subsidy cap is likely to bind. Results also show a shift toward hiring lower-skill workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Fan, Wen, Juliet Schor, Orla Kelly & Guolin Gu (2023): Does work time reduction improve workers' well-being? Evidence from global four-day workweek trials. (SocArXiv papers), 46 S. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/7ucy9

Abstract

"Time spent on the job is a fundamental aspect of working conditions that influences many aspects of individuals’ lives. In this ground-breaking research, we study how an organization-wide four-day workweek Intervention - with no reduction in pay - affects workers’ well-being. Participating organizations undergo pre-trial work reorganisation to improve efficiency and collaboration, followed by a six-month four-day workweek trial. Based on data collected from 2,134 employees in 123 organizations before and after the trial, we find that the trial leads to improvements in multiple measures of subjective well-being, including burnout, job satisfaction, positive affect, mental health, and physical health. Larger reductions in individuals' weekly hours predict greater gains in well-being outcomes. Mediation analysis indicates that three factors significantly contribute to the relationship between reduced working hours and increased well-being: improvements in self-reported work ability, reductions in sleep problems, and decreased levels of fatigue." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Gihleb, Rania, Osea Giuntella & Jian Qi Tan (2023): The Impact of Right-to-Work Laws on Long Hours and Work Schedules. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 16588), Bonn, 59 S.

Abstract

"Unions play a crucial role in determining wages and employment outcomes. However, union bargaining power may also have important effects on non-pecuniary working conditions. We study the effects of right-to-work laws, which removed agency shop protection and weakened union powers on long hours and non-standard work schedules that may adversely affect workers' health and safety. We exploit variation in the timing of enactment across US states and compare workers in bordering counties across adopting states and states that did not adopt the laws yet. Using the stacked approach to difference-in-differences estimates proposed by Cengiz et al. (2019), we find evidence that right-to-work laws increased the share of workers working long hours by 6%, while there is little evidence of an impact on hourly wages. The effects on long hours are larger in more unionized sectors (i.e. construction, manufacturing, and transportation). While the likelihood of working non-standard hours increases for particular sectors (education and public administration), there is no evidence of a significant increase in the overall sample." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Lachowska, Marta, Alexandre Mas, Raffaele Saggio & Stephen A. Woodbury (2023): Work Hours Mismatch. (NBER working paper / National Bureau of Economic Research 31205), Cambridge, Mass, 94 S.

Abstract

"This paper uses a revealed preference approach applied to administrative data from Washington to document and characterize work-hour constraints. Workers have limited discretion over hours at a given employer, and there is substantial mismatch between workers who prefer long hours and employers that provide short hours. Voluntary job transitions suggest that the ratio of the marginal rate of substitution of earnings for hours (MRS) to the wage rate is on the order of 0.5-0.6 for prime-age workers. The average absolute deviation between observed hours and optimal hours is about 15%, and constraints on hours are particularly acute among low-wage workers. On average, observed hours tend to be less than preferred levels, and workers would require a 12% higher wage with their current employer to be as well off as they would be after moving to an employer offering ideal hours. These findings suggest that hours constraints are an equilibrium feature of the labor market because long-hour jobs are costly to employers, and that employers offer high-wage/long-hour packages to increase their overall value of employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Lee, Dain, Jinhyeok Park & Yongseok Shin (2023): Where Are the Workers? From Great Resignation to Quiet Quitting. (NBER working paper / National Bureau of Economic Research 30833), Cambridge, Mass, 19 S.

Abstract

"To better understand the tight post-pandemic labor market in the US, we decompose the decline in aggregate hours worked into the extensive (fewer people working) and the intensive margin changes (workers working fewer hours). Although the pre-existing trend of lower labor force participation especially by young men without a bachelor's degree accounts for some of the decline in aggregate hours, the intensive margin accounts for more than half of the decline between 2019 and 2022. The decline in hours among workers was larger for men than women. Among men, the decline was larger for those with a bachelor's degree than those with less education, for prime-age workers than older workers, and also for those who already worked long hours and had high earnings. Workers' hours reduction can explain why the labor market is even tighter than what is expected at the current levels of unemployment and labor force participation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Pabilonia, Sabrina Wulff & Victoria Vernon (2023): Remote Work, Wages, and Hours Worked in the United States. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 16420), Bonn, 48 S.

Abstract

"Remote wage employment gradually increased in the United States during the four decades prior to the pandemic, then surged in 2020 due to social distancing policies implemented to stem the spread of COVID-19. Using the 2010–2021 American Community Survey, the authors examine trends in wage and hours differentials for full-time remote workers and office-based workers as well as within occupation differences in wage growth by work location. Throughout the period, remote workers earned higher wages than those working on-site, and the difference increased sharply during the pandemic. Real wages grew 4.4 percent faster for remote workers within detailed occupation groups and remote work intensity was positively associated with wage growth across occupations. Before the pandemic, remote workers worked substantially longer hours per week than on-site workers, but by 2021, hours were similar." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Paek, Eunjeong (2023): Workplace computerization and inequality in schedule control. In: Social science research, Jg. 116. DOI:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2023.102939

Zitatform

Behringer, Jan, Martin Gonzalez Granda & Till van Treeck (2022): Varieties of the rat race: Working hours in the age of abundance. (ifso working paper 17), Duisburg, 33 S.

Abstract

"We ask why working hours in the rich world have not declined more sharply or even risen at times since the early 1980s, despite a steady increase in productivity, and why they vary so much across rich countries. We use an internationally comparable database on working hours (Bick et al., 2019) and conduct panel data estimations for a sample of 17 European countries and the United States over the period 1983-2019. We find that high or increasing top-end income inequality, decentralized labor relations, and limited government provision of education and other in-kind services contribute to long working hours. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that upward-looking status comparisons in positional consumption ("Veblen effects") contribute to a "rat race" of long working hours that is more or less pronounced in different varieties of capitalism." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Bick, Alexander, Adam Blandin & Richard Rogerson (2022): Hours and Wages. In: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Jg. 137, H. 3, S. 1901-1962. DOI:10.1093/qje/qjac005

Abstract

"We document two robust features of the cross-sectional distribution of usual weekly hours and hourly wages. First, usual weekly hours are heavily concentrated around 40 hours, while at the same time a substantial share of total hours come from individuals who work more than 50 hours. Second, mean hourly wages are nonmonotonic across the usual hours distribution, with a peak at 50 hours. We develop and estimate a model of labor supply to account for these features. The novel feature of our model is that earnings are nonlinear in hours, with the extent of nonlinearity varying over the hours distribution. Our estimates imply significant wage penalties for people who deviate from 40 hours in either direction, leading to a large mass of people who work 40 hours and are not very responsive to shocks. This has important implications for the role of labor supply as a mechanism for self-insurance in a standard heterogeneous-agent incomplete-markets model and for empirical strategies designed to estimate labor supply parameters." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Del Rey, Elena, Joaquín Naval & Jose I. Silva (2022): Hours and wages: A bargaining approach. In: Economics Letters, Jg. 217. DOI:10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110652

Abstract

"In a recent paper, Bick et al. (2022) show the presence of a hump-shaped relationship between hours and hourly wages with a maximum around 50 h worked. We show that a model with fixed labor costs where workers and firms bargain in wages and hours can help explain this non-linear relationship. Also, a quantitative version of the model is able to match the empirical hourly-wage to hours worked relationship estimated by those authors for the US." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2022 Elsevier) ((en))

Zitatform

Florio, Erminia & Aicha Kharazi (2022): Curtailment of Economic Activity and Labor Inequalities. (GLO discussion paper / Global Labor Organization 1166), Essen, 50 S.

Abstract

"The worrying combination of the labor market tightness and the wage inflation in the US since the pandemic raises a question on how the business closure orders affected the fragile segments of the labor force and contributed to mounting inflationary wage pressure. We develop a macroeconomic model with heterogeneous labor and a nested CES production function. We estimate the model using the newly collected data from the CPS and the BEA. The recent crisis leads to a contraction in total hours worked, makes wages more volatile, and sustains wage inflation. The model also generates differential effects of the business closure orders on productivity and the labor market in the US. The earning rates and hours responses to the crisis differ by age, skills, and origin of the worker." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Flüter-Hoffmann, Christiane & Oliver Stettes (2022): Homeoffice nach fast zwei Jahren Pandemie. Ein Rück- und Ausblick über die Verbreitung und Struktur der räumlichen und zeitlichen Flexibilisierung von Arbeit in Deutschland, Europa und den USA. (IW-Report / Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln 2022,02), Köln, 56 S.

Abstract

"Die hier vorliegende Studie zeigt einen Rück- und Ausblick über die Verbreitung und Struktur der räumlichen und zeitlichen Flexibilisierung von Arbeit in Deutschland, Europa und den USA." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Lachowska, Marta, Alexandre Mas & Stephen A. Woodbury (2022): How Reliable are Administrative Reports of Paid Work Hours? (Upjohn Institute working paper 361), Kalamazoo, Mich., 49 S. DOI:10.17848/wp22-361

Abstract

"This paper examines the quality of quarterly records on work hours collected from employers in the State of Washington to administer the unemployment insurance (UI) system, specifically to determine eligibility for UI. We subject the administrative records to four “trials,” all of which suggest the records reliably measure paid hours of work. First, distributions of hours in the administrative records and Current Population Survey outgoing rotation groups (CPS) both suggest that 52–54% of workers work approximately 40 hours per week. Second, in the administrative records, quarter-to-quarter changes in the log of earnings are highly correlated with quarter-to-quarter changes in the log of paid hours. Third, annual changes in Washington’s minimum wage rate (which is indexed) are clearly reflected in year-to-year changes in the distribution of paid hours in the administrative data. Fourth, Mincer-style wage rate and earnings regressions using the administrative data produce estimates similar to those found elsewhere in the literature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Landivar, Liana Christin, Rose A. Woods & Gretchen M. Livingston (2022): Does part-time work offer flexibility to employed mothers? In: Monthly labor review H. February. DOI:10.21916/mlr.2022.7

Abstract

"Using data from the 2017-18 American Time Use Survey Leave and Job Flexibilities Module, we evaluate the relationship between part-time work and job flexibility among civilian employed mothers who are wage and salary workers. Results show that mothers working part time are employed in jobs that lack many of the attributes that would characterize these jobs as flexible. Mothers in part-time jobs were less likely to have paid leave, work-at-home access, and advanced schedule notice. Although part-time jobs require fewer work hours, these shorter work hours may come at a cost of reduced flexibility, pay, and availability of family-friendly benefits." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Mertehikian, Yasmin A. & Pilar Gonalons-Pons (2022): Work and Family Disadvantage: Determinants of Gender Gaps in Paid Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic. In: Socius, Jg. 8, S. 1-12. DOI:10.1177/23780231221117649

Abstract

"This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the increase in gender inequality in paid work during the pandemic to unpack the relative relevance of labor market and work-family conflict processes. Using panel data from the United States Current Population Survey, we examine four mechanisms in an integrated analysis that explicitly includes single-parent households and assesses the moderating role of women’s economic position relative to their partners. The results indicate that increases in gender inequality during the pandemic were heavily concentrated in households with children but also partly connected to gender differences in prepandemic labor market positions and to the higher prevalence of women in lower earner position relative to their partners. Single parents were more negatively impacted than partnered parents, but the disproportionate concentration of this impact on women does not contribute much to increases in overall gender inequality due to the relatively smaller size of this group." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Anelli, Massimo & Felix König (2021): Willingness to Pay for Workplace Safety. (CESifo working paper 9469), München, 59 S.

Abstract

"This paper develops a revealed-preference approach that uses budget constrain discontinuities to price workplace safety. We track hourly workers who face the decision of how many hours to work at varying levels of Covid-19 risk and leverage state-specific discontinuities in unemployment insurance eligibility criteria to identify the labor supply behavior. Results show large baseline responses at the threshold and increasing responses for higher health risks. The observed behavior implies that workers are willing to accept 34% lower incomes to reduce the fatality rate by one standard deviation, or 1% of income for a one in a million chance of dying." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Eden, Maya (2021): Time Inseparable Labor Productivity and the Workweek. In: The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Jg. 123, H. 3, S. 940-965. DOI:10.1111/sjoe.12429

Abstract

"A centuries-old tradition, the week constitutes a coordination device that allows for temporal agglomeration in both production and leisure. But does it induce coordination on the optimal workweek? Central to this question is the nature of time-inseparability in labor productivity. Productivity is increasing in restfulness, which diminishes with work time, and in skill, which improves with work time. I show that, because skill accumulates and depreciates slowly, there are productivity gains from coordinating on a workweek with fewer but more frequent vacation days. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Fitzroy, Felix & Jim Jin (2021): Some Welfare Economics of Working Time. (IZA discussion paper 14810), Bonn, 27 S.

Abstract

"Few skilled workers in the UK have flexible working time – GPs are the exception – most can only choose between unemployment, or full-time work, which has changed little in recent years, while part time work is mainly unskilled. This market rigidity imposes major welfare losses, in contrast to flexibility of worktime for all in the Netherlands, which has the best work-life balance. Stagnating real wages and rising employer market power and inequality follow declining unionisation, but a standard four-day week, tax reform, basic income, and flexibility rights for all could reverse these trends and provide major welfare gains." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Kolasa, Marcin, Michal Rubaszek & Małgorzata Walerych (2021): Do flexible working hours amplify or stabilize unemployment fluctuations? In: European Economic Review, Jg. 131. DOI:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2020.103605

Abstract

"In this paper we challenge the conventional view that increasing working time flexibility limits the amplitude of unemployment fluctuations. We start by showing that hours per worker in European countries are much less procyclical than in the US, and even co-move negatively with output in selected economies. This is confirmed by the results from a structural VAR model for the euro area, in which hours per worker increase after a contractionary monetary shock, exacerbating the upward pressure on unemployment. To understand these counterintuitive results, we develop a structural search and matching macroeconomic model with endogenous job separations that resemble layoffs. We show that this feature is key to generating a countercyclical response of hours per worker. When we augment the model with frictions in working hours adjustment and estimate it using euro area time series, we find that increasing flexibility of working time amplifies cyclical movements in unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2021 Elsevier) ((en))

Zitatform

Lambert, Susan J. & Anna Haley (2021): Implementing Work Scheduling Regulation: Compliance and Enforcement Challenges at the Local Level. In: ILR review, Jg. 74, H. 5, S. 1231-1257. DOI:10.1177/00197939211031227

Abstract

"Employment legislation intended to establish scheduling standards in hourly jobs is spreading across US cities. Yet the well-documented role that cost-focused business models play in shaping manager practices forecasts uneven compliance. Joining perspectives from labor and public policy studies, the authors examine variation in the organizational Arena - local workplaces - where implementation of scheduling regulation is set to play out. Analyses draw on surveys and interviews with 52 retail and food service managers on the eve of enactment of Seattle’s Secure Scheduling Ordinance. By capturing the full range of variation in managers’ scheduling practices prior to enactment, and their distance from legal compliance, the authors contribute unique insight into the prospects of establishing universal work hour standards in service industries and the varying pathways employers will likely pursue toward regulatory compliance. Findings suggest targets for enforcement and manager training and offer insight into the implementation challenges posed by municipal-level regulation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

McKinnish, Terra (2021): Prevalence of Long Work Hours by Spouse’s Degree Field and the Labor Market Outcomes of Skilled Women. In: ILR review, Jg. 74, H. 4, S. 898-919. DOI:10.1177/0019793920901703

Abstract

"Using 2009 to 2015 American Community Survey (ACS) data, this article estimates the effect of the prevalence of long hours and short hours of work in a husband’s field of work, as defined by his undergraduate degree field, on the labor market outcomes of skilled married women. When individuals work in fields that require longer hours of work, their spouses experience spillover effects. The labor market outcomes of female spouses are more negatively affected than are those of male spouses. Specifically, female spouses face lower total earnings, hourly wages, employment options, and hours of work for married women with children relative to married men with children or married women without children. Little evidence supports the idea that the rate of short hours of work in a spouse’s degree field differentially affects married women with children." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Borowczyk-Martins, Daniel & Etienne Lalé (2020): The ins and outs of involuntary part-time employment. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 67. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101940

Abstract

"We develop and implement a protocol to measure U.S. monthly time series of involuntary part-time employment stocks and flows from 1976 until today. Armed with these new data, we provide a comprehensive account of the cyclical dynamics of involuntary part-time work. We find that the recessionary increase in involuntary part-time employment is consistently driven by a jump in the transition probability from other employment states to involuntary part-time employment, and a drop in the reverse transition probability. We compare the dynamics of unemployment and involuntary part-time employment to argue that they reflect the operation of distinct labor-adjustment channels. While unemployment dynamics are driven by movements in job creation and destruction, the dynamics of involuntary part-time employment reflect changes in employers' labor utilization." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2021 Elsevier) ((en))

Zitatform

Burger, Anna S. (2020): Extreme work hours in Western Europe and North America: diverging trends since the 1970s. In: Socio-economic review, Jg. 18, H. 4, S. 1065-1087. DOI:10.1093/ser/mwy020

Abstract

"This article presents a political economy analysis of extreme work hours in 18 advanced Western economies since the 1970s. Empirically, it shows that the culture of long work hours has gained significance not only in the Anglo-Saxon but also in most Continental European welfare states. Theoretically, it provides an institutionalist argument against the neoclassical, or supply-side, point of view on the drivers of long work hours in post-industrial labour markets. It demonstrates that the choice to work long hours is not entirely, or even mainly, left to the preference of the individual. Instead, individual choices are constrained by labour market policies, collective bargaining institutions and new labour market structures, the pattern and trends of which do not necessarily follow the contours of the regime typology. Data on extreme work hours was compiled from the Luxembourg Income Study and the Multinational Time Use Study micro-data collections." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Schröder, Martin (2020): Men Lose Life Satisfaction with Fewer Hours in Employment: Mothers Do Not Profit from Longer Employment. Evidence from Eight Panels. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 152, H. 1, S. 317-334. DOI:10.1007/s11205-020-02433-5

Abstract

"This article uses random and fixed effects regressions with 743,788 observations from panels of East and West Germany, the UK, Australia, South Korea, Russia, Switzerland and the United States. It shows how the life satisfaction of men and especially fathers in these countries increases steeply with paid working hours. In contrast, the life satisfaction of childless women is less related to long working hours, while the life satisfaction of mothers hardly depends on working hours at all. In addition, women and especially mothers are more satisfied with life when their male partners work longer, while the life satisfaction of men hardly depend on their female partners' work hours. These differences between men and women are starker where gender attitudes are more traditional. They cannot be explained through differences in income, occupations, partner characteristics, period or cohort effects. These results contradict role expansionist theory, which suggests that men and women profit similarly from moderate work hours; they support role conflict theory, which claims that men are most satisfied with longer and women with shorter work hours." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

Zitatform

Huh, Hyeon-seung & David Kim (2019): Sources of fluctuations in hours worked for Canada, Germany, Japan and the U.S. A sign restriction VAR approach. In: Applied Economics, Jg. 51, H. 15, S. 1634-1646. DOI:10.1080/00036846.2018.1528333

Abstract

"This study empirically examines the sources of fluctuations in hours worked in Canada, Germany, Japan and the U.S. It is particularly motivated by Galí's (1999) VAR study, which demonstrates that a positive technology shock reduces hours worked, at least in the short run. However, in the present study, a technology shock is identified without recourse to Galí's long-run restriction, which has been subject to active controversy. Furthermore, this study uncovers other important sources of fluctuations in hours worked to reflect the concern, raised by numerous studies, that technology shocks leave most variations in hours worked unexplained. Specifically, there are six shocks underlying our model, and they are identified using a set of sign restrictions. The empirical results confirm that in all four countries, a positive technology shock significantly reduces hours worked. This technology shock, along with labor supply and demand shocks, accounts for most of the short-term variations in hours worked. As the forecasting horizon increases, technology and demand shocks become less important, whereas labor supply shocks contribute to explaining the bulk of long-run variations in hours worked. Finally, the empirical relevance of Galí's long-run identification restriction is tested and the results are related to those obtained using the sign restriction model." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Mas, Alexandre & Amanda Pallais (2019): Labor supply and the value of non-work time: Experimental estimates from the field. In: American economic review. Insights, Jg. 1, H. 1, S. 111-126. DOI:10.1257/aeri.20180070

Zitatform

Messenger, Jon C. (Hrsg.) (2019): Telework in the 21st Century. An Evolutionary Perspective. (The ILO Future of Work series), Cheltenham: Elgar, 352 S. DOI:10.4337/9781789903751

Abstract

"Technological developments have enabled a dramatic expansion and also an evolution of telework, broadly defined as using ICTs to perform work from outside of an employer’s premises. This volume offers a new conceptual framework explaining the evolution of telework over four decades. It reviews national experiences from Argentina, Brazil, India, Japan, the United States, and ten EU countries regarding the development of telework, its various forms and effects. It also analyses large-scale surveys and company case studies regarding the incidence of telework and its effects on working time, work-life balance, occupational health and well-being, and individual and organizational performance." (Author's abstract, © Edward Elgar Publishing) ((en))

Zitatform

Bell, David N.F. & David G. Blanchflower (2018): Underemployment in the US and Europe. (NBER working paper 24927), Cambrige, Mass., 44 S. DOI:10.3386/w24927

Abstract

"Large numbers of part-time workers around the world, both those who choose to be part-time and those who are there involuntarily and would prefer a full-time job report they want more hours. Full-timers who say they want to change their hours mostly say they want to reduce them. When recession hit in most countries the number of hours of those who said they wanted more hours, rose sharply and there was a fall in the number of hours that full-timers wanted their hours reduced by. Even though the unemployment rate has returned to its pre-recession levels in many advanced countries, underemployment in most has not.
We produce estimates for a new, and better, underemployment rate for twenty-five European countries. In most underemployment remains elevated. We provide evidence for the UK and the US as well as some international evidence that underemployment rather than unemployment lowers pay in the years after the Great Recession. We also find evidence for the US that falls in the home ownership rate have helped to keep wage pressure in check. Underemployment replaces unemployment as the main influence on wages in the years since the Great Recession." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Butrica, Barbara A. & Nadia S. Karamcheva (2018): In debt and approaching retirement. Claim social security or work longer? In: AEA papers and proceedings, Jg. 108, S. 401-406. DOI:10.1257/pandp.20181116

Abstract

"Over the past couple of decades, older Americans have become considerably more leveraged. This paper considers whether household debt affects the timing of retirement and Social Security benefit claiming. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we find that older adults with debt are more likely to work and less likely to receive Social Security benefits than those who are debt-free. Indebted adults are also more likely to delay fully retiring from the labor force and claiming their benefits. Among the sources of debt, mortgages have a stronger impact on older adults' behavior than do other sources of debt." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Finnigan, Ryan (2018): Varying weekly work hours and earnings instability in the Great Recession. In: Social science research, Jg. 74, H. August, S. 96-107. DOI:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.05.005

Zitatform

Finnigan, Ryan & Jo Mhairi Hale (2018): Working 9 to 5? Union membership and work hours and schedules. In: Social forces, Jg. 96, H. 4, S. 154-1568. DOI:10.1093/sf/sox101

Abstract

"Millions of workers in the United States experience volatile weekly working hours and nonstandard shift work, particularly following the Great Recession. These aspects of work schedules bring greater economic insecurity and work-life conflict, particularly for low-wage workers. In the absence of strong and widespread policies regulating work hours in the United States, labor unions may significantly limit varying hours and nonstandard shifts. However, any benefits of union membership could depend on local unionization rates, which vary widely between states. This paper analyzes the relationship between union membership and varying weekly work hours and nonstandard schedules among hourly workers using data from the 2004-2007 and 2008-2012 Surveys of Income and Program Participation. The results show that union members were significantly less likely to report varying numbers of hours from week to week, particularly in states with relatively high unionization rates. In contrast, union members were more likely to report nonstandard schedules. The earnings penalties for varying hours and nonstandard schedules are significantly weaker among union members than non-members. Altogether, the results demonstrate some of unions' continued benefits for workers, and some of their limitations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Fleche, Sarah, Anthony Lepinteur & Nattavudh Powdthavee (2018): Gender norms and relative working hours. Why do women suffer more than men from working longer hours than their partners? In: AEA papers and proceedings, Jg. 108, S. 163-168. DOI:10.1257/pandp.20181098

Abstract

"Constraints that prevent women from working longer hours are argued to be important drivers of the gender wage gap in the United States. We provide evidence that in couples where the wife's working hours exceed the husband's, the wife reports lower life satisfaction. By contrast, there is no effect on the husband's satisfaction. The results still hold when controlling for relative income. We argue that these patterns are best explained by perceived fairness of the division of household labor, which induces an aversion to a situation where the wife works more at home and on the labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Giménez-Nadal, José Ignacio, José Alberto Molina & Jorge Velilla (2018): Telework, the timing of work, and instantaneous well-being. Evidence from time use data. (IZA discussion paper 11271), Bonn, 38 S.

Abstract

"In this paper, we analyze the time allocation decisions of teleworkers, and compare them with their commuter counterparts. Using data from the American Time Use Survey for the years 2003 to 2015, we analyze the time spent working, the timing of work, and the instant enjoyment experienced while working, of teleworkers and commuters. Results show that teleworkers devote 40% less time to market work activities than do commuters, and less than 60% of both male and female teleworkers work at 'regular hours', vs around 80% of similar commuters. A higher percentage of teleworkers than commuters are engaged in leisure and non-market work at the central hours of the day. Using additional information from the Well-being Module for the years 2012 and 2013, we find that male teleworkers experience higher levels of satisfaction while working than do commuters, net of differences in socio-demographic and job characteristics. Our results point towards male telecommuters being happier in their job tasks than commuters, which may lead to a higher productivity of the former, and explains why teleworkers are able to work fewer hours per day." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Schoonbroodt, Alice (2018): Parental child care during and outside of typical work hours. In: Review of Economics of the Household, Jg. 16, H. 2, S. 453-476. DOI:10.1007/s11150-016-9336-y

Abstract

"It has been argued that child care should be treated separately from leisure or housework when analyzing time use data. This is because child care has a positive income gradient, whereas leisure and housework do not. Using U.S. data from PSID-CDS, this paper computes parental child care during and outside of typical work hours (TWH) by income quintile for two-parent families. The TWH distinction is important because the opportunity cost of spending time with children is first and foremost in terms of forgone earnings during TWH; outside of TWH, leisure or housework mainly constitute this opportunity cost. Indeed, I find that child care decreases with income during TWH and, hence, behaves similarly to leisure and other household chores. While maternal child care also slightly decreases with income outside of TWH, paternal care increases with income outside of TWH. Also, the discrepancy between paternal and maternal child care is smaller outside of TWH than it is during TWH. This is particularly pronounced in high income families. Theoretical implications are derived in a static framework of time allocation and child quality production encompassing the recent literature on the topic. Variation in child care during TWH can be rationalized by assuming a high elasticity of substitution between leisure, consumption and child quality. This is the standard explanation for the patterns observed in leisure and housework. Within this widely used framework, however, the facts outside of TWH point to systematic differences by income in preferences or productivity. Further exploration of child care patterns during and outside of TWH is needed to inform us about the dimensions in which this widely used framework should be extended." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

Zitatform

Cotti, Chad D., M. Ryan Haley & Laurie A. Miller (2017): Assessing the impact of different workplace flexibilities on workplace stress in the presence of varying degrees of job control. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 24, H. 3, S. 198-201. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2016.1176108

Abstract

"We apply probit and propensity score matching to 1667 respondents from the 2008 National Survey of the Changing Workforce to quantify how workers' self-reported stress levels vary under two different workplace flexibilities and varying degrees of job control. The first workplace flexibility considered is the ability to easily take time off for personal and family matters; the second is the option of a compressed work week. Our findings suggest that the first flexibility correlates with lower stress reports regardless of job control level. The second flexibility, however, correlates with lower stress levels only for workers with low levels of job control. This suggests that a compressed work week does not reduce stress for workers that already have high levels of job control. The more general conclusion is that some flexibilities are substitutes for job control whereas other are not, assuming the larger goal is the reduction of workplace stress and the various maladies exacerbated by stress." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Mas, Alexandre & Amanda Pallais (2017): Valuing alternative work arrangements. In: The American economic review, Jg. 107, H. 12, S. 3722-3759. DOI:10.1257/aer.20161500

Abstract

"We employ a discrete choice experiment in the employment process for a national call center to estimate the willingness to pay distribution for alternative work arrangements relative to traditional office positions. Most workers are not willing to pay for scheduling flexibility, though a tail of workers with high valuations allows for sizable compensating differentials. The average worker is willing to give up 20 percent of wages to avoid a schedule set by an employer on short notice, and 8 percent for the option to work from home. We also document that many job-seekers are inattentive, and we account for this in estimation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Bee, C. Adam & Joshua Mitchell (2016): The hidden resources of women working longer. Evidence from linked survey-administrative data. (NBER working paper 22970), Cambrige, Mass., 40 S. DOI:10.3386/w22970

Abstract

"Despite women's increased labor force attachment over the lifecycle, household surveys such as the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) do not show increases in retirement income (pensions, 401(k)s, IRAs) for women at older ages. We use linked survey-administrative data to demonstrate that retirement incomes are considerably underreported in the CPS ASEC and that women's economic progress at older ages has been substantially understated over the last quarter century. Specifically, the CPS ASEC shows median household income for women age 65-69 rose 21 percent since the late 1980s, while the administrative records show an increase of 58 percent. Survey biases in women's own incomes appear largest for women with the longest work histories. We also exploit the panel dimension of our data to follow a cohort of women and their spouses (if present) as they transition into retirement in recent years. In contrast to previous work, we find that most women do not experience noticeable drops in income up to five years after claiming social security, with retirement income playing an important role in maintaining their overall standard of living. Our results pose a challenge to the literature on the 'retirement consumption puzzle' and suggest total income replacement rates are high for recent retirees." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Bick, Alexander, Bettina Brüggemann & Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln (2016): Hours worked in Europe and the US. New data, new answers. (IZA discussion paper 10179), Bonn, 44 S.

Abstract

"We use national labor force surveys from 1983 through 2011 to construct hours worked per person on the aggregate level and for different demographic groups for 18 European countries and the US. We find that Europeans work 19% fewer hours than US citizens. Differences in weeks worked and in the educational composition each account for one third to one half of this gap. Lower hours per person than in the US are in addition driven by lower weekly hours worked in Scandinavia and Western Europe, but by lower employment rates in Eastern and Southern Europe." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Borowczyk-Martins, Daniel & Etienne Lalé (2016): The rise of part-time employment. (Sciences Po Economics Discussion Paper 2016-04), Paris, 48 S.

Abstract

"We construct new monthly time series of U.S. labor market stocks and flows from 1976 onwards. These data reveal an upward secular trend in turnover between full-time and part-time employment, and a large cyclical component chiefly explained by fluctuations in involuntary part-time work. Both short-run and long-run reallocations occur mostly without an intervening spell of non-employment, and therefore cannot be uncovered without splitting employment into finer categories. We emphasize the importance of our findings for several active debates, such as the slowdown in U.S. labor-market dynamism, changes in job stability and security, and the assessment of labor-market slack." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Borowczyk-Martins, Daniel & Etienne Lalé (2016): The welfare effects of involuntary part-time work. (Sciences Po Economics Discussion Paper 2016-05), Paris, 30 S.

Abstract

"Employed individuals in the U.S. are increasingly more likely to work part-time involuntarily than to be unemployed. Spells of involuntary part-time work are different from unemployment spells: a full-time worker who takes on a part-time job suffers an earnings loss while remaining employed, and is unlikely to receive income compensation from publicly-provided insurance programs. We analyze these differences through the lens of an incomplete-market, job-search model featuring unemployment risk alongside an additional risk of involuntary part-time employment. A calibration of the model consistent with U.S. institutions and labor-market dynamics shows that involuntary part-time work generates lower welfare losses relative to unemployment. This finding relies critically on the much higher probability to return to full-time employment from part-time work. We interpret it as a premium in access to full-time work faced by involuntary part-time workers, and use our model to tabulate its value in consumption-equivalent units." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Carrillo, Dani, Kristen Harknett, Allison Logan, Sigrid Luhr & Daniel Schneider (2016): On-call job, on-call family. The necessity of family support among retail workers with unstable work schedules. (Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Working paper 2016-11), Washington, DC, 39 S.

Abstract

"Drawing on 25 in-depth interviews with parents employed in the service sector in the San Francisco Bay area, we describe an array of challenges: insufficient work hours, volatile incomes, unpredictable schedules, and the lack of flexibility for time off. Meeting the demands of work and parenting almost invariably involved reliance on informal child care support. Working parents with stable schedules were often able to manage parenting responsibilities using a 'tag-team' parenting approach. Those with unstable schedules often engaged in a 'child-care scramble' in which the care arrangements were pieced together on an ad hoc basis. Some parents with unstable work schedules were able to avoid this instability by relying heavily on one 'family anchor,' usually a grandparent, who could consistently provide child care. In sum, on-call family support is required to meet the demands of unstable work schedules, and instability in work schedules often reproduces a similar instability at home." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Goldin, Claudia & Lawrence F. Katz (2016): Women working longer. Facts and some explanations. (NBER working paper 22607), Cambrige, Mass., 59 S. DOI:10.3386/w22607

Abstract

"American women are working more, through their sixties and even into their seventies. Their increased participation at older ages started in the late 1980s before the turnaround in older men's labor force participation and the economic downturns of the 2000s. The higher labor force participation of older women consists disproportionately of those working at full-time jobs. Increased labor force participation of women in their older ages is part of the general increase in cohort labor force participation. Cohort effects, in turn, are mainly a function of educational advances and greater prior work experience. But labor force participation rates of the most recent cohorts in their forties are less than those for previous cohorts. It would appear that employment at older ages could stagnate or even decrease. But several other factors will be operating in an opposing direction leading us to conclude that women are likely to continue to work even longer." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Mas, Alexandre & Amanda Pallais (2016): Valuing alternative work arrangements. (NBER working paper 22708), Cambrige, Mass., 61 S. DOI:10.3386/w22708

Abstract

"We use a field experiment to study how workers value alternative work arrangements. During the application process to staff a national call centre, we randomly offered applicants choices between traditional M-F 9 am - 5 pm office positions and alternatives. These alternatives include flexible scheduling, working from home, and positions that give the employer discretion over scheduling. We randomly varied the wage difference between the traditional option and the alternative, allowing us to estimate the entire distribution of willingness to pay (WTP) for these alternatives. We validate our results using a nationally-representative survey. The great majority of workers are not willing to pay for flexible scheduling relative to a traditional schedule: either the ability to choose the days and times of work or the number of hours they work. However, the average worker is willing to give up 20% of wages to avoid a schedule set by an employer on a week's notice. This largely represents workers' aversion to evening and weekend work, not scheduling unpredictability. Traditional M-F 9 am - 5 pm schedules are preferred by most jobseekers. Despite the fact that the average worker isn't willing to pay for scheduling flexibility, a tail of workers with high WTP allows for sizable compensating differentials. Of the worker-friendly options we test, workers are willing to pay the most (8% of wages) for the option of working from home. Women, particularly those with young children, have higher WTP for work from home and to avoid employer scheduling discretion. They are slightly more likely to be in jobs with these amenities, but the differences are not large enough to explain any wage gaps." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Petrescu-Prahova, Miruna & Michael W. Spiller (2016): Women's wage theft. Explaining gender differences in violations of wage and hour laws. In: Work and occupations, Jg. 43, H. 4, S. 371-400. DOI:10.1177/0730888416661019

Abstract

"In this study, the authors identify and analyze a distinct and understudied source of gender inequality: gender differences in violations of wage-related workplace laws. The authors find that women have significantly higher rates of minimum wage and overtime violations than men and also lose more of their earnings to wage theft than men. In the case of minimum wage violations, the authors also find that nativity and immigration status strongly mediate this gender difference. Multivariate analysis suggests that demand-side characteristics - occupation and measures of nonstandard work and informality - account for more of the gender difference in minimum wage violations than do worker characteristics." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Sweet, Stephen, Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes & Jacquelyn Boone James (2016): Successes in changing flexible work arrangement use. Managers and work-unit variation in a financial services organization. In: Work and occupations, Jg. 43, H. 1, S. 75-109. DOI:10.1177/0730888415595094

Abstract

"This study identifies factors associated with flexible work arrangement (FWA) use in the context of the 'Supervisor-Promoted Flexibility' program implemented by an employer in the financial activities supersector. This change initiative involved supervisor-initiated discussions that explored prospects for supervisee FWA use. Discussions increased the odds of FWA use expansion, but changes occurred at different rates among work units. Managers' gender, age, and attitudes toward FWAs corresponded with changes observed. When managers believed that supervisee FWA use reflected favorably on prospects for their own careers, they were more likely to expand use over time." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Täht, Kadri & Melinda Mills (2016): Out of time. The consequences of non-standard employment schedules for family cohesion. (SpringerBriefs in sociology),: Springer London 126 S. DOI:10.1007/978-94-017-7402-4

Abstract

"This pioneering work aims at understanding the impact of non-standard (evening, night, weekend) working time on family cohesion, meaning parent-child interaction, partnership quality and divorce or partnership dissolution. 'Out of time - the Consequences of Non-standard Employment Schedules for Family Cohesion' is the first work to treat this important topic in a cross-national, comparative way by using data from two large comparable surveys. The impact of work in non-standard schedules on workers can be divided into individual and social consequences. Research so far has shown the clear individual effects of these schedules, such as increased stress levels and sleeping and physical disorders. There is less clarity about social consequences. Either no or positive effects of these types of schedules on workers and their families are found, or a significant negative impact on the relations between the workers and others, especially other members of the family is shown in research results. This Brief compares the Netherlands and the United States of America, countries that both show a high prevalence of non-standard schedule work, whereas both operate in very different institutional and welfare regime settings of working time regulation. By combining both quantitative and qualitative data, the authors are able to provide generalized views of comparative surveys and challenging those generalizations at the same time, thus enabling the reader to get a better understanding and more balanced view of the actual relationship between non-standard employment schedules and family cohesion." (Publisher's text, IAB-Doku) ((en))