ABSTRACT
The following chapter shows to what extent the actual and the preferred working hours of men and women coincide or diverge in two specific phases of life. To better understand the impact of cumulative advantages and disadvantages in working life, we start with the main working phase, the conditions of which have a strong impact on the later career phase. Based on two articles providing multivariate regression analyses of the European Social Survey (ESS, 2010–2012, Round 5), we explore the causes of underemployment and overemployment for the early and late phases of employment. Underemployment is defined as having fewer than desired hours of work or no work at all. Overemployment, on the other hand, means either working too many hours or having a job when one would prefer to work fewer hours, or not being employed at all (anymore). We propose a Triple-A approach to improve our understanding of cross-national differences in employment and policy frameworks that determine opportunities and needs. This synthesis reflects the interplay of availability, affordability and attractiveness of work and working hours, which also vary by gender, household and social stratification. Our results show that underemployment is more common among people with lower levels of education, especially in countries with constraints in the form of low wages, high unemployment rates and a lack of part-time jobs. Overemployment, on the other hand, is more likely to be found among people with high levels of education, especially women, regardless of the country context. Keywords: Working time preferences, cross-national comparison, underemployment, overemployment, working time, gender, old age, life course stages, main career phase
