Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle?

Although it is generally accepted that women who work part-time are, on average, more satisfied in their jobs than their full-time counterparts, this is unlikely to be true for all women. Using the British Household Panel Survey we estimate the determinants of job satisfaction using a fixed-effects...

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Main Authors: Bridges, Sarah, Owens, Trudy
Format: Article
Published: Oxford University Press 2017
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38520/
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author Bridges, Sarah
Owens, Trudy
author_facet Bridges, Sarah
Owens, Trudy
author_sort Bridges, Sarah
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Although it is generally accepted that women who work part-time are, on average, more satisfied in their jobs than their full-time counterparts, this is unlikely to be true for all women. Using the British Household Panel Survey we estimate the determinants of job satisfaction using a fixed-effects linear regression and define categories of women according to their level of education, age-cohort, family circumstances, and pathway into part-time work. We show that women who work part-time are more satisfied with their jobs, although the effect is noticeably weaker for key groups: those born in or after 1970, the better educated, and those who enter part-time employment direct from full-time work. We argue that these results reflect shifting attitudes by women towards their employment. Women today, especially those belonging to the younger cohort expect more from their jobs and are beginning to express dissatisfaction if this is not realised.
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spelling nottingham-385202020-05-04T18:52:34Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38520/ Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle? Bridges, Sarah Owens, Trudy Although it is generally accepted that women who work part-time are, on average, more satisfied in their jobs than their full-time counterparts, this is unlikely to be true for all women. Using the British Household Panel Survey we estimate the determinants of job satisfaction using a fixed-effects linear regression and define categories of women according to their level of education, age-cohort, family circumstances, and pathway into part-time work. We show that women who work part-time are more satisfied with their jobs, although the effect is noticeably weaker for key groups: those born in or after 1970, the better educated, and those who enter part-time employment direct from full-time work. We argue that these results reflect shifting attitudes by women towards their employment. Women today, especially those belonging to the younger cohort expect more from their jobs and are beginning to express dissatisfaction if this is not realised. Oxford University Press 2017-07-01 Article PeerReviewed Bridges, Sarah and Owens, Trudy (2017) Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle? Oxford Economic Papers, 69 (3). pp. 782-808. ISSN 0030-7653 https://academic.oup.com/oep/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/oep/gpw064 doi:10.1093/oep/gpw064 doi:10.1093/oep/gpw064
spellingShingle Bridges, Sarah
Owens, Trudy
Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle?
title Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle?
title_full Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle?
title_fullStr Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle?
title_full_unstemmed Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle?
title_short Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle?
title_sort female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle?
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38520/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38520/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38520/