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An Exploration of Quality Part-Time Working in Europe, with a Focus on the UK Case

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Handbook on Well-Being of Working Women

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life ((IHQL))

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Abstract

Part-time working may seem like an ideal solution for women wanting to maintain a work-life balance and increase well-being. Indeed, part-time working is common across many European countries. Evidence from the UK, however, shows that because of the limited part-time options available in highly-skilled jobs, many women compromise by crowding into lower-level part-time jobs. Part-time workers are also at a disadvantage in terms of access to training and development opportunities, with longer-term career implications. In spite of these identified career penalties, evidence has shown that women like part-time work and flexibility in their working hours and report lower work-life conflict than full-time working women. In this chapter, we draw on qualitative data from the UK government-funded Quality Part-Time Work Fund initiative, set up to increase the wider availability of better part-time job opportunities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Clare Lyonette, Beate Baldauf & Heike Behle

Authors
  1. Clare Lyonette
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  2. Beate Baldauf
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  3. Heike Behle
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Correspondence to Clare Lyonette .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management College of Business Administration, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA

    Mary L. Connerley

  2. Department of Management and Marketing School of Management, Rhode Island College, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Jiyun Wu

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Lyonette, C., Baldauf, B., Behle, H. (2016). An Exploration of Quality Part-Time Working in Europe, with a Focus on the UK Case. In: Connerley, M., Wu, J. (eds) Handbook on Well-Being of Working Women. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9897-6_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9897-6_28

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9896-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9897-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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