WORKING HOURS AND TRENDS IN JOB SATISFACTION USING A PANEL OF BRITISH WORKERS

Abstract

Patterns of work have changed over the years in Britain and increasing flexibility in the labour market has been introduced. The implementation of the European Union directives in 2002 and the introduction of the Minimum Wage in 1999 as well as the New Deal programme have contributed to changes in the labour market. And growth in non-standard work has resulted in choices available to the workforce and workers can choose to work full-time or part-time, maximising their utility subject to their constraints. This is likely to have an impact on the trends in job satisfaction of the workers. Thus, using data from the British Household Panel Survey from 1991-2008, this paper addresses the following questions: are patterns of weekly working hours contributing to the narrowing gender gap in satisfaction from work of British workers? Are changes in employment profiles i.e. switching from full-time hours into part-time hours in two consecutive years or changes in economic activity, such as switching from unemployment into part-time hours or switching from unemployment into full-time jobs enhancing welfare of workers? Using logistic regression techniques, the results show that men?s hours of work are steadily declining whereas smaller variations are seen among female workers. This decline in working hours as well its negative correlation with job satisfaction suggests that hours of work play a role in narrowing gender gap in current job satisfaction of British workers. And transitions in economic activity and employment profiles affect satisfaction from work.