Abstract
Satisfaction with working time gains increasing importance in the context of changing sphere of work, spread-out of flexible forms of employment, digitalisation and telework in the recent times of the Covid-19 pandemic. The paper focuses on the factors associated with satisfaction with working time in European countries before the pandemic based on data from the European Quality of Life Survey (2016). The study serves as a basis for further comparison of the trend in working time satisfaction in the pre-pandemic period across Europe and the recent period of increasing flexibilisation of work, digitalisation and spread-out of distant employment. For this purpose, descriptive statistical analyses and two-level random intercept model for binary responses are applied. The results show that women report higher satisfaction with working time compared to men. Satisfaction significantly increases after the age of 40. The number of children and the presence of children below the age of 6 in the household are negatively associated with satisfaction with working time. Satisfaction is positively associated with income and education. Structural conditions, such as economic development measured by gross domestic product (GDP), influence Europeans’ working time satisfaction. In the Balkan countries, satisfaction with working time is the lowest, while in the North-Western societies the highest percentage of workers are satisfied with working time before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Highlights
Working time satisfaction gains increasing importance in the recent context of changing sphere of work, work life balance, spread-out of flexible forms of employment, digitalisation and telework, which were accelerated by the socio-economic implications of the Covid-19 pandemic
Study Results In European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS), the match and mismatch between working time and time for family and social life is measured by the question: “In general, how do your working hours fit in with your family or social commitments outside work?”
Working time satisfaction increases after the age of 40 when individuals are in the middle of their professional career and the children have grown up
Summary
Working time satisfaction gains increasing importance in the recent context of changing sphere of work, work life balance, spread-out of flexible forms of employment, digitalisation and telework, which were accelerated by the socio-economic implications of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the role theory, the individual fulfils different roles in the sphere of paid work and private life [4]. Role conflict emerges when an individual cannot meet certain role expectations, e.g. when workload and working hours impede the fulfilment of family responsibilities. According to Greenhaus and Allen [8], life-work balance reflects an absence of conflict between the two spheres. Grzywacz and Zivnuska [9] claim that life-work balance exceeds the absence of conflict between paid work and private life since the two spheres are mutually inclusive. Marks and MacDermid [11] emphasise the importance of satisfaction with the role fulfilment, claiming that work-life balance is achieved when the role engagement corresponds with personal preferences
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