Gender division of work, working time and health

Lucía Artazcoz

Public Health Agency of Barcelona

Presentation outline

Conceptual framework based on the sexual division of work

Employment-family balance Part-time work Long working hours

Conceptual framework

Traditional occupational health Work, a potential source of health

hazards Work as a social determinant of health

Occupational social-class inequalities Domestic and family work and health

Gender division of work Interaction between employment and the family

sphere Family sphere:

Domestic and caring work Breadwinner role

Intersection with other axes of inequalities: Individual level: Social class (ethnicity, immigration) Contextual level: Welfare state regimes

The sexual division of work in Europe

Labour force participation in the EU-27 by country and sex in 2013

EU-27

Belgium

Croatia

Czech Republic

Estonia

France

Greece

Iceland

Italy

Lithuania

Malta

Norway

Portugal

Slovakia

Spain

Switzerland

0 20 40 60 80 100

Women

Men

%

Eurostat, Labour Force Survey

Welfare state regimes: Family and labour market models

Welfare state regimes and family models in Europe Nordic countries

Double earner/double carer Continental countries

Traditional family model with support to families Southern-European countries

Traditional family models, with no support to families Post-comunist countries

Double earner/women carers Anglo-Saxon countries

Market-oriented family models

Time devoted to domestic work among workers married or cohabiting

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Continental

Ireland/UK

Eastern Europe

Southern Europe

Nordic

Continental

Ireland/UK

Eastern Europe

Southern Europe

Nordic

Everyday >=1 hours Every 2nd day<1 hour 1-2 a week 1-2 a month 1-2 a year Never

Men

Women

Source: European Working Conditions Survey, 2010

Person who contributes the most to the household income among workers married or cohabiting

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Continental

Ireland/UK

Eastern Europe

Southern Europe

Nordic

Continental

Ireland/UK

Eastern Europe

Southern Europe

Nordic

Yes No Both equally

Men

Women

Source: European Working Conditions Survey, 2010

Explaining the gender division of domestic and family work

Negotiation between partners Better position of partners with more economic resources More equal economic positions between partners, less

domestic work for women but not more domestic work for men (Kroska, 2004)

Stable pattern of male share in domestic work across life

Motherhood increase gender inequalities in domestic work (Baxter et al. 2008)

Gender role expectations (Geist, 2005) Societal norms, gender and family policies

Nordic model: Women in the labour market

Women working full-time or long part-time

Family care outside families More policies for promoting women

participation in the labour market than men participation in domestic work

Other countries: Women in the labour market

Continental countries Promotion of women working part-time

Southern European countries Women working full-time or homemakers Low labour market participation of women

Eastern European countries Women working full-time Women as carers Social care for 3-6 years old children

UK Promotion of women working part-time Low salaries and poor working conditions among women

The gender division of work and health

The case of Spain:

Changing patterns with the economic crisis

Combining employment and family demands and health: the intersection with social class

0

1

2

3

4

Malasalud

Poor general

health

Long-standing

Limiting illness

At least one

Chronic condition

Risk

Sleep < 6 hours

3

4

>4 persons

3

4

>4 persons

3

4

>4 persons

3 4

>4 persons

2 22 2

Female manual workers

0

1

2

3

4

Malasalud

Poor general

health

Poor mental

health

Sleep < 6 hours

Risk

Leisure time

sedentarism

3

4

>4 persons

3 4

>4 persons

3

4

>4 persons

3 4

>4 persons

2 22 2

Female manual workers

0

1

2

3

4

Malasalud

Poor general

health

Poor mental

health

Sleep < 6 hours

Risk

Leisure time

sedentarism

3

4

>4 persons

3

4

>4 persons

3 4

>4 persons

3 4

>4 persons

2 22 2

Male manual workers

Data from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey Sample: Workers married or cohabiting Employment demands: working hours (< 30, 30-40, 41-50 and

<50) Household composition

Number of children Living with older than 64 Partner’s employment status

Health outcomes General health status Psychological wellbeing

Continental and Southern European countries: Long working hours and family demands associated with health status in both

sexes, although these associations are stronger and more consistent among women;

Men from Southern European countries: Poor health status and psychological wellbeing among living with other than 64

Anglo-Saxon countries: Association between long working hours and family demands and health mainly

limited to men Women: The only country where part-time was related to better health status

Nordic and Eastern European countries: Long working hours and family demands largely unassociated with poor health

outcomes in both sexes.

Understanding part-time, long working hours and health

Welfare state models (cultural aspects)

Family models

Carer

Part-time work

Breadwinner

Long working hours

Involuntary or forced

Poor employment and working conditions and poor health

Labour market characteristics(regulation)

Bargaining power

The importance of economic vulnerability

… and the crisis

Part-time work and employment and working conditions

Part-time work in the EU-27 by country and sex in 2013

Austria

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Denmark

Finland

Germany

Hungary

Ireland

Latvia

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Poland

Romania

Slovenia

Sweden

United Kingdom

0 20 40 60 80 100

Women

Men

%

Eurostat, Labour Force Survey

Involuntary part-time work in the EU-27 by country and sex in 2013

Austria

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Denmark

Finland

Germany

Hungary

Ireland

Latvia

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Poland

Romania

Slovenia

Sweden

United Kingdom

0 20 40 60 80 100

Women

Men

%

Eurostat, Labour Force Survey

Dimensions of job quality

Source: Eurofound, 2012

(2013)

In search of good quality part-time employment

Quality part-time: Differences between countries

Differences between countries: Definition Incidence Available information

Good quality part-time jobs: Sweden and The Netherlands

Poor quality part-time jobs: United Kingdom

Job quality and part-time in Europe (1)

Job security Part-time more insecure

Training opportunities Less training opportunities Less promotion prospects

Intrinsic job quality Concentration in low-skilled jobs Higher levels of monotony Lower levels of task complexity and problem-solving tasks

(Sandor, 2011) Poor economic and social integration Voluntary or involuntary Attention to mini jobs (Burchell et al.) Occupational downgrading (higher in the UK)

(2010)

(2010)

Job quality and part-time in Europe (2)

Earnings and earnings progression Lower average hourly earning in almonst all

countries (Kalleberg, 2006) Small differences in Norway and the Netherlands Largest gap in the United Kingdom

Exposure to health hazards Lower exposure to safety and ergonomic

hazards; higher exposure to psychosocial hazards

Job quality and part-time in Europe (3)

Working-time quality Part-timers more likely to have control

over their working-time Intensification of work? (Fagan et al.

2008) Irregular working-times? Unpredictable

working hours? On call? (Plantenga and Remery, 2009)

Long working hours and health

Working hours among men in Europe, 2010

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Continental Anglo-Saxon Eastern Southern Nordic

<30 31-40 41-50 51-60

European Working Conditions Survey, 2010

Working hours among women in Europe, 2010

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Continental Anglo-Saxon Eastern Southern Nordic

<30 31-40 41-50 51-60

Karoshi: about 10000 deaths ayear in Japan

Long working hours and health status in Spain

In some circumstances, working 41-60 hours associated with…

Poor general health Poor mental health Job dissatisfaction Hypertension Smoking Sedentarism in the leisure time

Proposed model for explaining the relationship between moderately long working hours and health status

Long working hours and health status in Europe

Long working hours and health status in Europe

Long working hours and health status in Europe (2005)

In all countries, working long hours related to poor health but the association was stronger and more consistent among men from Anglo-Saxon countries;

Stronger association among men in countries with male breadwinner models, similar among men and women from Nordic countries, and stronger among women from Eastern European countries.

Opting out of the 48-hour week in the UK

Workers 18 or over who want to work more than 48 hours a week, can choose to opt out of the 48-hour limit.

This could be for a certain period or indefinitely. It must be voluntary and in writing.

It can’t be contained in an agreement with the whole workforce. However, employers are allowed to ask individual workers if they’d be willing to opt out.

An employer shouldn’t sack or unfairly treat a worker (eg refused promotion) for refusing to sign an opt-out.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/maximum-weekly-working-hours/weekly-maximum-working-hours-and-opting-out

As the directive stands there is only work and resting—no in between such as on-call times, when the doctor may not actually be working. The commission is also concerned about the use of opt outs, which give individuals the right to opt out of the weekly limit on working hours. Doctors may opt out for various reasons, such as the need to earn more money or to receive more training, or simply due to pressure exerted by the trust they work for. The more doctors opt out, the easier it becomes for trusts to comply with the requirements of the directive.

Professionals often choose to work long hours because they enjoy their work, and from a desire to provide a good service and to improve their expertise in their chosen profession. Although limits need to be set on the number of hours people work, the change from 56 to 48 hours is a step too far. The creation of complicated rotas, full shifts, and cross cover is not the solution to a fundamentally flawed reduction in hours of work.

Gender division of work, working time and health

Lucía Artazcoz

Public Health Agency of Barcelona