Work Hour Mismatches between Preferred and Actual Work Hours: A Comparative Analysis of Women and Men in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples in Germany

Tabea Naujoks , Rostock University

This paper investigates the preferred working hours and their mismatch with actual working hours for men and women, with a particular emphasis on parenthood status. The primary aim is to identify which groups successfully achieve their preferred working hours and to uncover potential differences between same-sex and different-sex couples in this context. Recent findings suggest that younger fathers desire reduced working hours to spend more time with their children, while mothers are often constrained to involuntary part-time employment. While previous research predominantly focused on work hours preferences of partners in different-sex unions, this paper takes on a new perspective by including the gender composition in couples as an explanatory factor. This study leverages data from ten waves of the German Microcensus (2010-2019), collected annually from 1% of households in Germany. The initial descriptive analysis reveals that women in different-sex couples with children wish to work an average of four hours more per week than they currently do, while their same-sex counterparts desire a one-hour increase, on average. In contrast, men in different-sex couples work an average of 40 hours per week and are more successful in realizing their preferred work hours. However, men in same-sex couples aim to reduce their working hours by approximately one hour per week. By using OLS regressions, I analyze how those differences are related to parenthood, gender composition in the couple, education, household income, and partner characteristics such as work hours and educational level.

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 Presented in Session 39. Flash session Values and Attitudes about Family and Gender