Reduction of Working Time in Austria. A Mixed Methods Study Relating a New Work Time Policy to Employee Preferences. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 97

Stefanie Gerold and Matthias Nocker
Additional contact information
Matthias Nocker: Vienna University of Economics and Business

in WIFO Studies from WIFO

Abstract: This mixed-methods study examines factors determining employees' desire to reduce worktime. The results of a binary logit regression model, based on data from the Austrian Microcencus 2012, suggest that employees who prefer shorter weekly working hours are older, higher educated and work longer hours in white-collar positions, compared to those who do not wish to change their hours. Gender differences are greatest in terms of household and family characteristics, supporting the "male breadwinner & part-time" model. Qualitative interviews have been conducted among employees who had the possibility to choose between a pay increase and equivalent leisure time via a new worktime policy (Freizeitoption) implemented in 2013. The results suggest that employees with higher education tend to reduce worktime. The fact that money is valued from a long-term, security perspective, as well as the tendency of assessing work performances by output indicators can be regarded as major obstacles for worktime reductions.

Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.wifo.ac.at/wwa/pubid/58139 abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wfo:wstudy:58139

Access Statistics for this book

More books in WIFO Studies from WIFO Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Florian Mayr ().