What to expect after you are expecting? An analysis of mothers' interruption duration and return-to-work behaviour after childbirth

How do institutional factors and their interaction with individual resources influence the length of mothers’ interruption durations after childbirth and return-to-work behaviour? This thesis answers this question from a family sociology and labour market perspective, and concentrates on how institutional factors explain varying durations of mothers’ employment interruptions and the differences in their return-to-work behaviour after childbirth. In this cumulative thesis, I analyse three institutional factors, the introduction of a paid leave entitlement, the expansion of childcare availabilities, and the specific hours of employment across different occupations. After an introduction in Chapter 1, the first two parts (Chapter 2 and 3) are concerned with the influence of two policy reforms (aiming at easing the conflict between family and career) on mothers’ return-to-work behaviour, whereas the third part (Chapter 4) seizes on the occupational opportunity structure and its impact on mothers’ return-to-work behaviour. More specifically, Chapter 1 outlines the overarching framework, based on life course research, and discusses how the chapters relate to the existing literature of life course research. Chapter 2 studies the effect of a first-time roll-out of a paid maternity entitlement in Australia on mothers’ return-to-work behaviour and how the reform effect differs by educational groups. The results suggest that the introduction of a statutory paid leave entitlement has stimulated a change in re-entry behaviour to work, although its impact varies across educational groups. Chapter 3, in co-operation with Gundula Zoch, examines how increased availability of low-cost, state-subsidised childcare for under-three-year-olds in Germany is associated with shorter employment interruptions amongst West and East German mothers. The results indicate that increased childcare availability for under-three-year-olds reduces the length of mothers’ employment interruptions, particularly for West German mothers. Chapter 4, together with Sandra Buchholz, investigates whether occupation-specific hours of employment (not just the number of hours worked, but also the level of flexibility of when they are worked) affect mothers’ interruption duration and their return-to-work behaviour after childbirth. The results show that occupation-specific employment hours, even after controlling for individual characteristics, are significantly associated with the length of mothers’ employment interruptions. The effect of occupation-specific employment hours for the interruption duration depends on the mother’s level of education and as the results suggest they have a larger impact on the interruption duration of lower educated mothers. The thesis contributes to the literature on how institutions shape individual life courses. It shows, in particular, that institutions do not have the same effect on all mothers but influence the lives of individuals in stratified ways and can contribute to growing inequalities of labour market opportunities for mothers with differing resources

Beeinflussen berufstypische Arbeitszeitmerkmale die Unterbrechungsdauer von Frauen? Eine längsschnittliche Analyse der Bedeutung beruflicher Merkmale für die Berufsrückkehr von Müttern in Deutschland

"Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, ob berufstypische Arbeitszeitmerkmale die Erwerbsunterbrechungsdauer von Frauen nach der Familiengründung beeinflussen und welche Bedeutung berufstypische Arbeitszeitmerkmale für Frauen mit unterschiedlichem Bildungsniveau haben. Dazu wurden die Längsschnittdaten der Erwachsenenkohorte des Nationalen Bildungspanels über ein Daten-Linkage mit aggregierten Berufsdaten aus dem Mikrozensus angereichert. Die Ergebnisse der empirischen Analysen zeigen, dass sich berufstypische Arbeitszeiten neben Individualmerkmalen signifikant auf die Berufsrückkehr von Müttern auswirken. Für hochqualifizierte Frauen erwiesen sich lediglich die für einen Beruf typischen Überstunden als einflussreich. Dieses Ergebnis deutet darauf hin, dass die Rückkehr von Akademikerinnen aufgrund von höheren Opportunitätskosten und womöglich auch einer höhere Erwerbsneigung durch die arbeitszeitlichen Gegebenheiten im Austrittberuf kaum tangiert ist. Für mittel- und insbesondere geringqualifizierte Frauen sind jedoch andere Faktoren, nämlich die Arbeitszeitlänge, die Verbreitung von Heimarbeit und - für beruflich nicht qualifizierte Frauen - auch die Verbreitung von Nacht- und Wochenendarbeit relevant. Insgesamt legen unsere Ergebnisse nahe, dass berufstypische Arbeitszeiten insbesondere für die Unterbrechungsdauer von geringgebildeten Müttern eine bedeutende Rolle spielen." (Autorenreferat)"This article analyses how occupation-specific hours of employment influence the employment interruptions of women after family formation, and whether employment hours have an impact on different educational groups. This study uses detailed longitudinal data from the German National Educational Panel Study and aggregated occupational data from the Microcensus. Our results show how occupation-specific employment hours, even after controlling for individual characteristics, significantly influence the employment interruptions of mothers. The interruption duration of women with tertiary education is solely influenced by the amount of overtime working hours associated with specific occupations. This result indicates that the return-to-work of tertiary educated women remain mostly unaffected by their hours of employment, and likely to be attributed to both elevated opportunity costs and higher career orientations. Whilst medium and less educated women reduce their time-out from their occupation when the working hours are short and working from home is possible. Atypical employment hours, such as night-shift or weekend work, are found to be exclusively relevant for less educated women. Overall, our results demonstrate that hours of employment play an important role for the employment continuity of women without a tertiary education." (author's abstract