PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

This paper analyses how the presence of children and the spouse's employment status relates to the desire for more and fewer hours of work. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), it is argued that a majority of employees do not work the working hours they would prefer. Most employees who are facing a mismatch of working hours want to spend less time at work. The desire to increase or decrease working hours varies greatly with the family structure. Mothers are more likely to have an unmet desire for fewer hours than women without children, whereas fathers less often express the desire for fewer hours than childless men. Those groups of workers who are most liable to work-life conflicts, such as single mothers and fathers in dual-earner households, relatively unlikely show a desire for fewer hours of work. The analysis suggests that work-life conflict is only weakly related to work hour mismatches. In addition, it became visible that the association between work-life conflict and the desire to reduce working hours is mediated by the family income and social norms.