Involuntary part-time work, gender and subjective well-being in the UK

Transcription

1 Daiga Kamerāde, University of Salford ( Helen Richardson, Sheffield Hallam University Involuntary part-time work, gender and subjective well-being in the UK

2 Questions How the gendered nature of the labour market shapes patterns of underemployment and the extent to which that explains the effects that underemployment has on male and female subjective well being?

3 Data and Measurements Data: Annual Population Surveys (APS) ( ) a nationally representative sample of 994,039 employed working age (16 64) adults in the UK, on average 124,255 respondents per calendar year. APS Subjective Well being dataset a nationally representative sample of 114,516 employed adults (also aged 16 64) in the UK. Measurements: Underemployment/involuntary part time work respondents that worked part time because they could not find a full time job Subjective well being: Anxiety (Negative affect): Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday? Happiness (Positive affect): Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday? Life satisfaction (Cognitive facet): Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays? ( Ascale of 0 ( not at all ) to 10 ( completely ). Gender segregation: Gender balanced occupations and industries (the proportion of women= around 50% ) Female dominated occupations and industries (>60% of employees are women) Male dominated occupations and industries (> 60% of employees are men) Controlling for: employment length, age, marital and disability status and the size of the employer, sector, income

4 Gendered trends in underemployment Men Women

5 Who is underemployed Table 1. Predictors of underemployment (versus full-time work) b SE Gender (Women vs. men) 0.49 *** (0.02) Occupation (Gender-balanced).. Female dominated 0.25 *** (0.01) Male dominated *** (0.02) Industry (Gender-balanced ).. Female dominated *** (0.02) Male dominated *** (0.02) Employment length (<1 year) years *** (0.01) 5+ years *** (0.02) Workplace size (Large 250+).. Medium (50-249) 0.19 *** (0.02) Small (<50) 0.89 *** (0.02) Sector (Public).. Private *** (0.02) Voluntary *** (0.03) Age *** (0.00) Age squared 0.01 *** (0.00) Disability (No disability).. Work limiting 0.55 *** (0.02) disability Work non-limiting 0.10 *** (0.03) disability Marital status (single).. Married, living *** (0.02) together Separated, widowed, 0.15 *** (0.02) divorced Civil partnership ** (0.12) Year (2006) (0.03) *** (0.03) *** (0.03) *** (0.03) *** (0.03) *** (0.03) *** (0.03) Constant *** (0.07) N 739,843 * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < Data source: Annual Population Survey, , weights applied

6 Underemployment and subjective well being: the choice matters The choice of working time pattern is crucial for the well being of staff. If an employee chooses to work part time, it can be good for their wellbeing: Men: Part timers by choice were significantly happier (0.39 and 0.31) and more satisfied (0.44 and 0.31) with their lifes than men employed full time Women: Newly employed women working part time were significantly more satisfied (0.14) with their lives than women working full time. Women working part time and with longer tenure also scored significantly higher on happiness (0.10) and life satisfaction (0.09) than women working full time. However, if an employee is forced to accept part time work when they want a full time position it can be detrimental to their well being: Men: Underemployed men have lower levels of life satisfaction ( 0.35) than men working full time (both tenure groups) Women: Underemployed women scored significantly lower ( 0.33 and 0.39) on life satisfaction than women employed full time. Underemployed women who have been with their employer for more than one year also were significantly more anxious (0.18) and less happy ( 0.19) than women of similar tenure who were employed full time.

7 Gender segregation and wellbeing Men: Men working in male dominated occupations have higher life satisfaction scores (0.13 and 0.05) than men in gender balanced occupations Men in male dominated occupations and with a longer tenure also had lower scores of anxiety ( 0.09) Men in male dominated industries and with longer tenure were significantly less happy ( 0.12) than men in gender balanced industries Men with longer tenure happier in the public sector (0.10) than men in the private sector; they were also more satisfied with their lives (0.14) if they worked in the voluntary sector (compared to the public sector). Women: Women in female dominated occupations and with longer tenure lower levels of anxiety ( 0.14) than in gender balanced occupations; in maledominated industries life satisfaction was lower ( 0.06). Women in public sector scored higher on life satisfaction(0.24) and happiness (0.26) than women in the private sector. Women working in the voluntary sector were less satisfied ( 0.13) than women in the public sector.

8 Conclusions Underemployment has been growing; women and women s jobs are more vulnerable to it. Women workers are a flexible reserve in buffer jobs to be shed (or have hours reduced) in times of economic recession (Rubery, 1988; Rubery and Rafferty, 2010; Rubery and Rafferty, 2013). The employee choice matters. Underemployment has a negative effect on the subjective well being of both men and women, even after gender segregation is taken into account. Underemployment has a broader spectrum effect on female subjective well being than on male Some evidence of the effects of the gender composition of occupations and industries on male and female well being (needs further exploration)

9 Data: strenghts and limitations Strenghts: Very large na onally representa ve samples fine grained analysis Involuntary part time work measured+many other jobrelated measurements AND several indicators of subjective well being Limitations: Well being measured for each person at one point in time No stable individual personality predispositions affecting well being measured Many job quality dimentions that could affect wellbeing are not measured

10 Other papers on well being Kamerāde D and Bennett MR. (2017) Rewarding work: crossnational differences in benefits, volunteering during unemployment, well being and mental health. Work, employment and society. Article first published online: March 14, 2017 DOI: Kamerāde D and McKay S (2015) Is There a Subjective Well Being Premium in Voluntary Sector Employment? Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 26(6):