Many recent studies of the time-squeeze have used aggregate, trend data on work-hour behavior and inferred changing preferences among working men and women. This article begins with couple data and examines preferences as well as behavior in married-couple families. Work-hour behavior is conceptualized as an interaction between employee preferences, employer demands, and the institutional context. The article's analyses clearly indicate that there is a considerable disparity between couples' self-reports of preferences and their actual behavior. These results suggest that long work weeks generally do not reflect employee preferences but may result from constraints and demands imposed by the workplace. The rising sense of a time-squeeze in American society may stem from all-or-nothing assumptions about the nature and structure of work and the pressure to put in long hours to be seen as committed, productive, and having the potential for advancement.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Altonji, J. G. , & Paxson, C. H. (1986). Job characteristics and hours of work. Research in Labor Economics, 8, 1-55.
2.
Altonji, J. G. , & Paxson, C. H. (1988). Labor supply preferences, hours constraints, and hours-wage trade-offs. Journal of Labor Economics, 6, 254-276.
3.
Averett, S. L. , & Hotchkiss, J. L. (1995). The probability of receiving benefits given different hours of work. American Economic Review, 85, 276-280.
4.
Bailyn, L. (1993). Patterned chaos in human resource management. Sloan Management Review, 32, 77-83.
5.
Becker, G. (1991). A treatise on the family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
6.
Becker, P. E. , & Moen, P. (1999). Scaling back: Dual-earner couples' work-family strategies. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 995-1007.
7.
Bell, L. (1998). Differences in work hours and hours preferences by race in the U.S.Review of Social Economy, 56, 481-500.
8.
Berk, S. F. (1985). The gender factory: The apportionment of work in American households. New York: Plenum Press.
9.
Bluestone, B. , & Rose, S. (1997). Overworked and underemployed. The American Prospect, 31, 58-69.
10.
Bluestone, B. , & Rose, S. (1998). The macroeconomics of work time. Review of Social Economy, 56, 425-441.
11.
Clarkberg, M. (2000). The time-squeeze in American families: From causes to solutions. In E. Appelbaum (Ed.), Balancing acts: Easing the burdens and improving the options for working families (pp. 25-36). Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.
12.
Coleman, M. T. , & Pencavel, J. (1993a). Changes in work hours of male employees 1940-1988. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 46, 262-281.
13.
Coleman, M. T. , & Pencavel, J. (1993b). Trends in market work behavior of women since 1940. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 46, 653-676.
14.
Cramer, J. C. (1980). Fertility and female employment: Problems of causal direction. American Sociological Review, 45, 167-190.
15.
Figart, D. , & Golden, L. (1998). The social economics of work time: An introduction. Review of Social Economy, 56, 411-424.
16.
Finkel, S. (1995). Causal analysis with panel data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
17.
Fishbein, M. , & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
18.
George, D. (1997). Working longer hours: Pressure from the boss or pressure from the marketers?Review of Social Economy, 55, 33-65.
19.
Golden, L. (1998). Work time and the impact of policy institutions: Reforming the overtime hours law and regulation. Review of Social Economy, 56, 522-541.
20.
Hannan, M. T. , & Freeman, J. (1984). Structural inertia and organizational change. American Sociological Review, 49(2), 149-164.
21.
Hochschild, A. (1989). The second shift. New York: Avon Books.
22.
Hochschild, A. (1997). The time bind: When work becomes home and home becomes work. New York: Metropolitan Books.
23.
Jacobs, J. , & Gerson, K. (1998). Who are the overworked Americans?Review of Social Economy, 56, 442-459.
24.
Lerman, R. (1997). Is earnings inequality really increasing? Economic restructuring and the job market. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
25.
Moen, P. (1992). Women's two roles: A contemporary dilemma. New York: Auburn House.
26.
Moen, P. , & Wethington, E. (1992). The concept of family adaptive strategies. Annual Review of Sociology, 18, 233-251.
27.
Moen, P. , & Yu, Y. (1999). Having it all: Overall work/life success in two-earner families. In T. Parcel (Ed.), Research in sociological of work (Vol. 7, pp. 107-137).
28.
Rebitzer, J. , & Taylor, L. (1995). Do labor markets provide enough short-hours jobs? An analysis of work hours and work incentives. Economic Inquiry, 33, 257-273.
29.
Riley, M. W. (1987). On the significance of age in sociology. American Sociological Review, 52, 1-14.
30.
Roberts, K., & Rupert, P. (1995, June 15). The myth of the overworked American. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (economic commentary), pp. 1-4.
31.
Robinson, J. , & Bostrum, A. (1994). The overestimated workweek? What time diary measures suggest. Monthly Labor Review, 111, 11-23.
32.
Robinson, J. P. , & Godbey, G. (1997). Time for life: The surprising ways that Americans use their time. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.
33.
Rones, P. , Ilg, R., & Gardner, J. (1997). Trends in the hours of work since the mid-1970s. Monthly Labor Review, 120, 3-14.
34.
Rothschild, K. (1982). A note on some of economic and welfare aspects of working time regulations. Australian Economic Papers, 21, 214-218.
35.
Schor, J. (1991). The overworked American: The unexpected decline of leisure. New York: Basic Books.
36.
Vanek, J. (1974, November). Time spent in housework. Scientific American, 231, 116-120.
37.
Waite, L. , & Stolzenberg, R. (1976). Intended childbearing and labor force participation of young women: Insights from nonrecursive models. American Journal of Sociology, 41, 231-251.
