Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/20463 
Year of Publication: 
2004
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 1210
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We introduce the ideas of ?drop ceilings?, that full-time employees who switch to reduced hours thereafter face an hours ceiling such that a return to full-time employment is difficult, and of ?trap-door floors?, that full-time employees may be denied the opportunity to reduce their hours and instead face a choice between full-time employment and quitting the job. These ideas derive from the potential existence of norms around the ideal worker and motherhood. Relevant hypotheses are developed and tested using information on usual and preferred working time from the first two waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. The key findings are that women face drop ceilings significantly more often than men; that professionals and managers confront trap-door floors significantly more often than employees in other occupations; and that trap-door floor effects are generally stronger than drop ceiling effects in the data.
Subjects: 
working hours
employment transitions
HILDA survey
JEL: 
J22
J23
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
333.91 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.