The Institutionalization of Part-Time Work: Cross-National Differences in the Relationship between Part-Time Work and Perceived Insecurity

Publication date: Available online 28 December 2019Source: Social Science ResearchAuthor(s): Andrew S. Fullerton, Jeffrey C. Dixon, Destinee B. McCollumAbstractWe propose an institutionalization of part-time work model to account for the cross-national variation in workers’ perceptions of insecurity in their jobs and in the labor market, arguing that part-time work is institutionalized as high quality or marginal employment depending on the extent to which it is voluntary, gendered, and legally protected. Using heterogeneous choice models on 2005 ISSP data linked to country-level characteristics, we find that the relationship between part-time work and insecurity is gendered and contingent upon the type of insecurity (cognitive job insecurity, labor market insecurity, or affective job insecurity) and whether or not one works part-time on a voluntary basis. At the individual level, working in a part-time job is associated with greater cognitive job insecurity but lower labor market and affective job insecurity. At the national level, the expected negative association between the part-time work rate and insecurity is most consistent for affective job insecurity. The findings also indicate that the strength of the association between working in a part-time job and insecurity varies by the national institutional context of part-time work, including the degree of gender segregation of part-time work and legal protections for part-time workers. Overall, the results from this stud...
Source: Social Science Research - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research