Do weekend workers like their jobs?

Harshita Bhatia, Inga Laß () and Mark Wooden ()
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Harshita Bhatia: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic an Social Research, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Inga Laß: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic an Social Research, The University of Melbourne, Australia, https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/719045-inga-lass
Mark Wooden: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic an Social Research, The University of Melbourne, Australia, https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/2969-mark-wooden/

Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series from Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne

Abstract: Weekend work is a pervasive feature of labor markets that comes with both potential benefits (e.g., higher pay, flexible schedules) and drawbacks (e.g., less social time). Nevertheless, robust evidence on weekend workers’ job satisfaction is lacking. Longitudinal data from 21 waves of the annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey (n=211,077; i=26,273) are used to estimate the association between weekend work and several dimensions of job satisfaction. Estimates from fixed effects models reveal that weekend work is associated with significantly lower levels of satisfaction with working hours and flexibility, but this does not translate into lower levels of overall job satisfaction. Additional analyses were conducted to test whether results varied with employment status, occupation and parental status. In general, the main finding applied to all groups examined. There were, however, marked differences across sub-groups in satisfaction with other job domains. Overall, the results suggest that, for most workers, the benefits of working weekends offset its disadvantages.

Keywords: job satisfaction; weekend work; work-life balance; compensating differentials; penalty rates; working time; HILDA Survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 J22 J28 J81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 56pp
Date: 2026-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hrm and nep-lma
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