Économie et Statistique n° 414 - 2008  The Demography of the Medical Profession and the Careers of General Practitioners (GPs) - Inequalities Recognising of Property Income when Measuring Inequalities - How the Working Week is Organized for Working Individuals and Couples

Economie et Statistique
Paru le :Paru le01/01/2009
Laurent Lesnard et Thibaut de Saint Pol
Economie et Statistique- January 2009
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How the Working Week is Organized for Working Individuals and Couples: the Influence of Economic and Social Determinants

Laurent Lesnard et Thibaut de Saint Pol

For the Time-Use survey conducted by Insee in 1999 data was gathered from seven-day diaries in which working people noted their working hours for one week. This collection was used to analyze the weekly scheduling of work in France on the basis of social position and socio-demographic, individual and family characteristics. Different types of working weeks were categorized by applying a two-stage optimal matching method, firstly for working days, then for simplified weeks using day types. There are five types of days in the diaries: standard, staggered, long and fragmented working days, and rest days. The days differ greatly according to socio-professional category, the type of job, sector, but also gender. Pronounced regularities also emerge at a weekly level. Standard weeks, made up of standard working days, are set in contrast to working weeks made up of long working days, and staggered and fragmented weeks made up of staggered and fragmented days respectively. The position occupied by working people in the economic system has a marked effect on how the week is structured, as is also the case for individual days. Generally speaking, the better one’s position in the economic system, the more independent time-management one has and the more working weeks are standard or long. Meanwhile, less skilled workers have working weeks which are shorter on average, but have staggered and fragmented schedules and a very low degree of control over their working time. For couples less independent time-management leads to their work schedules becoming more desynchronized and this creates new inequalities between households.

Economie et Statistique

No 414

Paru le :01/01/2009