Work hours, job characteristics and life satisfaction among working mothers and fathers

Families where both parents are employed outside the home are now commonplace. Having multiple life roles can be enriching however, as gender equality isn’t guaranteed, the well-being impacts may manifest differently amongst mothers and fathers. This study estimates the association between work related factors (work hours, partner’s work hours and job characteristics) and parents’ life satisfaction via multi-level models using data from 15 countries obtained from the European Social Survey (2002–2018). This research is underpinned by utility theory taking a subjective well-being approach wherein utility is measured subjectively. The results indicate that fathers who work full-time are more dissatisfied with life if they are part of a dual-earning couple, whereas mothers’ life satisfaction is not significantly associated with their partners’ work hours. Other results find mothers have lower life satisfaction in jobs where they work longer hours. Having more control over how daily work is organised and having greater job security are associated with increased life satisfaction for both mothers and fathers. This research highlights the uneven impact of working arrangements on parents’ life satisfaction.