Does part-time work affect firms' employment structure and outcomes?

Lea Bergmann

No 1217, Ruhr Economic Papers from RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen

Abstract: Shorter working hours reflect a fundamental tension in modern labor mar- kets: They may increase the labor force participation of women and improve work-life balance, but may impose organizational costs on firms through co- ordination frictions and reduced scheduling flexibility. I examine a 2001 Ger- man reform that granted employees in firms with 16 or more employees the legal right to reduce working hours permanently. Using firm-level administra- tive data and a difference-in-discontinuities design around the 16-employee threshold, I find no evidence that the mandate alters firms' employee struc- ture. Moreover, it does not affect firms' business volume or hiring behavior. These null effects can be explained by firms already accommodating part-time requests before the reform. Overall, the results indicate that the mandate did not generate detectable distortions in employment or firm performance.

Keywords: part-time; firms; labor regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 J18 J22 J63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-lma
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:rwirep:343040

DOI: 10.4419/96973402

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