Using panel data for 2001–2005 from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, the authors examine workers' desires for, and achievement of, work hour flexibility. They estimate a dynamic model that controls for preferences in previous years and tests for the effects of life events on both desired employment and desired work hours. Many life events, such as motherhood and retirement, are found to have predictable effects. Parallel regressions are estimated for actual employment and the number of hours usually worked, and the results are compared to those for preferences. The dynamics of usual hours often mirror those for preferences, suggesting that labor markets function effectively for many employees. However, mismatches are associated with three life events: motherhood, widowhood for men, and job loss. The results also suggest that many men and women would extend employment under phased retirement programs, although only for a brief period.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AmatoPaul. 2000. “The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children.”Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 62, No. 4 (November), pp. 1269–87.
2.
BedardKellyDeschenesOlivier. 2005. “Sex Preferences, Marital Dissolution, and the Economic Status of Women.”Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Spring), pp. 411–34.
3.
DragoRobert. 2007. Striking a Balance: Work, Family, Life. Boston: Dollars & Sense.
4.
DragoRobertWoodenMark. 2006. “Work Hours Mismatch in the U.S. and Australia.” Presentation at the conference “Why Workplace Flexibility Matters: A Global Perspective,”University of Chicago, May 18.
5.
FischbachRuth L.HerbertBarbara. 1997. “Domestic Violence and Mental Health: Correlates and Conundrums within and across Cultures.”Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 45, No. 8 (October), pp. 1161–76.
6.
GoodeAlisonWatsonNicole, eds. 2007. HILDA User Manual—Release 5.1. Melbourne: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne.
7.
GustmanAlan L.SteinmeierThomas L., 1985. “The Effect of Partial Retirement on the Wage Profiles of Older Workers.”Industrial Relations, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Spring), pp. 257–65.
8.
HamermeshDaniel. 1996. Workdays, Workhours, and Work Schedules. Kalamazoo, Mich.: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
9.
HochschildArlie R.1997. The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work. New York: Metropolitan.
10.
JacobsJerryGersonKathleen. 2004. The Time Divide: Work, Family, and Gender Inequality. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
11.
JohnsonWilliam R.SkinnerJonathan. 1986. “Labor Supply and Marital Separation.”American Economic Review, Vol. 76, No. 3 (June), pp. 455–69.
12.
KillingsworthMark. 1983. Labor Supply. New York: Cambridge University Press.
13.
LandersRenee James RebitzerTaylorLowell. 1996. “Rat Race Redux: Adverse Selection in the Determination of Work Hours in Law Firms.”American Economic Review, Vol. 86, No. 3 (June), pp. 329–48.
14.
LeslieDavidJansonNatasha. 2005. Phasing Away: How Phased Retirement Works for College Faculty and Their Institutions. Williamsburg, Va.: College of William and Mary.
15.
LichterDaniel T.AndersonRobert N.HaywardMark D., 1995. “Marriage Markets and Marital Choice.”Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 16, No. 4 (July), pp. 412–31.
16.
MerzJoachim. 2002. “Time and Economic Well-Being—A Panel Analysis of Desired versus Actual Working Hours.”Review of Income and Wealth, Vol. 48, No. 3 (September), pp. 317–46.
17.
MoenPhyllisRoehlingPatricia. 2005. The Career Mystique: Cracks in the American Dream. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
18.
NealMargaret B.HammerLeslie B., 2007. Working Couples Caring for Children and Aging Parents. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
19.
NockStevenKingstonPaul. 1988. “Time with Children: The Impact of Couples' Work Time Commitments.”Social Forces, Vol. 67, No. 1 (September), pp. 59–85.
20.
ReynoldsJeremyAletrarisLydia. 2006. “Pursuing Preferences: The Creation and Resolution of Work Hours Mismatches.”American Sociological Review, Vol. 71, No. 3 (August), pp. 618–38.
21.
SchorJuliet. 1998. The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer. New York: Basic Books.
22.
StolzenbergRoss M.WaiteLinda J., 2005. “Effects of Marriage, Divorce, and Widowhood on Health.” In BianchiSuzanne M.CasperLynne M.KingRosalind Berklowitz, eds., Work, Family, Health, and Well-Being, pp. 361–77. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
23.
StonePamela. 2007. Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home. Berkeley: University of California Press.
24.
TanakaSakiko. 2005. “Parental Leave and Child Health across OECD Countries.”Economic Journal, Vol. 115, No. 501 (February), pp. F7–F28.
25.
TaylorPaulFunkCaryClarkApril. 2007. “From 1997 to 2007: Fewer Mothers Prefer Full-Time Work.” Social & Demographic Trends Report. Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center.
26.
WaldfogelJane. 2006. What Children Need. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
27.
WarrPeter B.1987. Work, Unemployment, and Mental Health. Oxford: Clarendon.
28.
WeedenKim A.2005. “Is There a Flexiglass Ceiling? Flexible Work Arrangements and Wages in the United States.”Social Science Research, Vol. 34, No. 2 (June), pp. 454–82.
29.
WilliamsJoan. 2000. Unbending Gender. New York: Oxford University Press.
30.
WoodenMark. 2000. The Transformation of Australian Industrial Relations. Sydney: Federation Press.
31.
WoodenMarkWatsonNicole. 2007. “The HILDA Survey and Its Contribution to Economic and Social Research (So Far).”The Economic Record, Vol. 83, No. 261 (June), pp. 208–31.
