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

Bridges, Sarah; Owens, Trudy

Abstract

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.

Citation

Bridges, S., & Owens, T. (2017). Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle?. Oxford Economic Papers, 69(3), 782-808. https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpw064

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 4, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Dec 21, 2016
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Nov 4, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 22, 2018
• Journal: Oxford Economic Papers
• Print ISSN: 0030-7653
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-3812
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 69
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 782-808
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpw064
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/869411
• Publisher URL: https://academic.oup.com/oep/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/oep/gpw064
• Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Oxford Economic Papers following peer review. The version of record Sarah Bridges, Trudy Owens; Female job satisfaction: can we explain the part-time puzzle?. Oxf Econ Pap 2016 is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/oep/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/oep/gpw064
• Contract Date: Nov 4, 2016