An exploration of the multiple motivations for spending less time at work

Balderson, U; Burchell, B; Kamerade, D; Wang, S; Coutts, A

Abstract

This article makes a significant empirical contribution to our understanding of why people in the United Kingdom without childcare responsibilities actively reduce or limit the amount of time they spend in paid employment. We show how the negative aspects of employment (push factors) and the desire to spend time in more varied and enjoyable ways (pull factors) interact to produce decisions to enact working time reductions (WTRs). The push factors include excessive workloads and difficult or tedious tasks which can result in stress and mental exhaustion. For people working non-standard schedules, their lack of control over hours can make it difficult to enjoy the free time that is available. The pull factors we have identified include traumatic experiences such as illness or the early death of a loved one which can lead to an increased awareness of the salience of time. Also important was the desire to develop skills and subjectivities unrelated to work-time identities. An overarching theme in the interviews was the idea that full-time work leads to a loss of autonomy, and a reduction in hours is a route to greater freedom. These motivations are contrasted with understandings of WTRs present in the empirical and predominantly quantitative literature which highlight the structural constraints that often force women in particular into part-time work as a result of childcare responsibilities. An exploration of the motivations of short-hour workers is pertinent, given increasing concern that long hours of work exacerbate multiple social, economic and environmental problems. We suggest that a deeper understanding of why individuals want to work less could help facilitate ‘priming’ campaigns aimed at increasing demand for WTRs more generally.

Citation

Balderson, U., Burchell, B., Kamerade, D., Wang, S., & Coutts, A. (2021). An exploration of the multiple motivations for spending less time at work. Time and Society, 30(1), 55-77. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463x20953945

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Sep 8, 2020
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Sep 17, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 17, 2020
• Journal: Time & Society
• Print ISSN: 0961-463X
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-7463
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 55-77
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463x20953945
• Keywords: Sociology and Political Science
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X20953945
• Related Public URLs: http://www.uk.sagepub.com/journals/Journal200801
• Additional Information: Additional Information : ** From Crossref via Jisc Publications Router **Journal IDs: pissn 0961-463X; eissn 1461-7463 **History: issued 08-09-2020; published_online 08-09-2020; Funders : National Social Science Fund of China;Cambridge Political Economy Society Trust (CPEST);National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences; Projects : The Employment Dosage Project: How Much Work is needed for Health and Well-being?;No. 19ZDA149; Grant Number: No. 19ZDA149