IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v177y2025i1d10.1007_s11205-024-03501-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Beyond the Individual: Unraveling the Couple-Level Effects of Working Time Mismatch on Work-Life Outcomes Among Working Parents

Author

Listed:
  • Ya Guo

    (National University of Singapore)

  • Senhu Wang

    (National University of Singapore)

Abstract

Despite ample research on the association between working time mismatch and work-life outcomes from an individual perspective, little has explored the dyadic correlation from a couple-level perspective among working parents. Using fixed effects models and longitudinal dyadic data from the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, this study examines the influence of working time mismatch of husbands and wives on their own and each other’s work-life outcomes (e.g., work-life enrichment, work-life conflict), thereby shedding light on crossover effects in work-life dynamics among working parents. The study reveals that overemployment is significantly associated with worse work-life outcomes for both mothers and fathers. Additionally, noticeable gender differences in spousal effects are observed: mothers’ overemployment significantly worsens their husbands’ work-life outcomes, and their underemployment notably improves it. In contrast, fathers’ working time mismatch does not significantly affect their wives’ work-life outcomes. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the negative effects of overemployment on both personal and spousal work-life outcomes persist, even for those with high job autonomy. Overall, this study underscores the dyadic association between couples’ working time mismatch and work-life outcomes among working parents, delineating an asymmetric dynamic. These findings suggest that policies aimed at reducing overemployment, addressing gender-specific challenges, and supporting flexible work arrangements are crucial for improving employee well-being in dual-earner households.

Suggested Citation

  • Ya Guo & Senhu Wang, 2025. "Beyond the Individual: Unraveling the Couple-Level Effects of Working Time Mismatch on Work-Life Outcomes Among Working Parents," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 177(1), pages 153-177, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:177:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-024-03501-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-024-03501-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-024-03501-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-024-03501-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maarten Goos & Alan Manning & Anna Salomons, 2009. "Job Polarization in Europe," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(2), pages 58-63, May.
    2. Laura LAMOLLA & Conxita FOLGUERA‐I‐BELLMUNT & Xavier FERNÁNDEZ‐I‐MARÍN, 2021. "Working‐time preferences among women: Challenging assumptions on underemployment, work centrality and work–life balance," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(3), pages 431-451, September.
    3. Wunder, Christoph & Heineck, Guido, 2013. "Working time preferences, hours mismatch and well-being of couples: Are there spillovers?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 244-252.
    4. Chi Zhang & Xiangdan Piao & Shunsuke Managi, 2023. "Work Hour Mismatch on Life Evaluation: Full Heterogeneity and Individual- and Country-Level Characteristics of the Most and Least Affected Workers," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 637-674, November.
    5. Kamerāde, Daiga & Wang, Senhu & Burchell, Brendan & Balderson, Sarah Ursula & Coutts, Adam, 2019. "A shorter working week for everyone: How much paid work is needed for mental health and well-being?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    6. Jenny Chesters & Janeen Baxter, 2009. "Paid and Unpaid Work in Australian Households: Trends in the Gender Division of Labour, 1986-2005," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 12(1), pages 89-107.
    7. Watson Nicole & Wooden Mark, 2021. "The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 241(1), pages 131-141, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tommaso AGASISTI & Geraint JOHNES & Marco PACCAGNELLA, 2021. "Tasks, occupations and wages in OECD countries," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(1), pages 85-112, March.
    2. Holmes, Craig & Mayhew, Ken, 2015. "Have UK Earnings Distributions Polarised?," INET Oxford Working Papers 2015-02, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    3. Tschopp, Jeanne, 2015. "The Wage Response to Shocks: The Role of Inter-Occupational Labour Adjustment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 28-37.
    4. Naguib, Costanza, 2019. "Estimating the Heterogeneous Impact of the Free Movement of Persons on Relative Wage Mobility," Economics Working Paper Series 1903, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    5. Pier-André Bouchard St-Amant & Nicolas Marceau & Jean-Denis Garon, 2024. "Uncovering Gatsby Curves," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 22(4), pages 833-864, December.
    6. Ondřej Dvouletý, 2023. "Underemployment and overemployment in Central Europe," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 12(2), pages 147-156.
    7. Fatoke Dato, Mafaizath A., 2015. "Impact of income shock on children’s schooling and labor in a West African country," MPRA Paper 64317, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Eichhorst, Werner, 2015. "Do We Have to Be Afraid of the Future World of Work?," IZA Policy Papers 102, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Monika Köppl-turyna & Michael Christl, 2018. "Returns to Skills or Returns to Tasks? A Comment on Hanushek et al. (2015)," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(2), pages 783-790.
    10. Stenberg, Anders & Westerlund, Olle, 2016. "Flexibility at a cost – Should governments stimulate tertiary education for adults?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 69-86.
    11. Maya Eden & Paul Gaggl, 2018. "On the Welfare Implications of Automation," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 29, pages 15-43, July.
    12. Caselli, Mauro & Fracasso, Andrea & Scicchitano, Sergio & Traverso, Silvio & Tundis, Enrico, 2025. "What workers and robots do: An activity-based analysis of the impact of robotization on changes in local employment," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    13. Dagmara Nikulin & Joanna Wolszczak-Derlacz & Aleksandra Parteka, 2022. "Working Conditions in Global Value Chains: Evidence for European Employees," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 36(4), pages 701-721, August.
    14. Seele, Stefanie & Burda, Michael, 2016. "No Role for the Hartz Reforms? Demand and Supply Factors in the German Labor Market, 1993-2014," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145650, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    15. Comin, Diego & Mestieri, Martí & Danieli, Ana, 2020. "Income-Driven Labor Market Polarization," CEPR Discussion Papers 14980, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Armanda Cetrulo & Dario Guarascio & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2020. "Anatomy of the Italian occupational structure: concentrated power and distributed knowledge," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 29(6), pages 1345-1379.
    17. David Kunst, 2019. "Deskilling among Manufacturing Production Workers," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 19-050/VI, Tinbergen Institute, revised 30 Dec 2020.
    18. Wunder, Christoph, 2016. "Working hours mismatch and well-being: comparative evidence from Australian and German panel data," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145544, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    19. Adrian Chadi, 2019. "Dissatisfied with life or with being interviewed? Happiness and the motivation to participate in a survey," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 53(3), pages 519-553, October.
    20. Christine Mayrhuber & Julia Bock-Schappelwein, 2018. "Dimensionen plattformbasierter Arbeit in Österreich und Europa. Implikationen für die soziale Sicherheit," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 61667.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:177:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-024-03501-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.