In the Face of Conflict: Work‐Life Conflict and Desired Work Hour Adjustments

This study helps integrate the work-life and work hours literatures by examining competing predictions about the relationship between work-life conflict and the desire for paid work. Using data from the 1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce (N =2,178), I find that work-life conflict makes women want to decrease the number of hours they work whether the conflict originates at home or at work. Men only want to decrease their hours when work-life conflict originates at work, and some men facing frequent conflict actually want to increase their hours. I also find that having children does not increase the likelihood of wanting to work fewer hours but having a higher income does.

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