The effect of working time on life satisfaction

The impact of working time on overall life satisfaction has been more extensively studied in the related literature. In advanced European countries, a work–life balance with enough leisure hours has been found to improve overall life satisfaction, and this relationship is especially significant among men [29, 30]. Other studies focus exclusively on overtime work. For instance, Holly and Mohnen [23] find that overtime work shows a highly significant positive effect on life satisfaction. Weston et al. [16] explore the impact of long working time on well-being for full-time employed fathers with partners and dependent children in Australia and find a negative correlation, with well-being declining as working hours increase. However, long working time is not necessarily associated with lower well-being for fathers working long hours because the extra income and feeling of accomplishment increase their happiness. Golden and Wiens-tuers [17] indicate that mandatory overtime work has mixed impacts on life satisfaction: being required to work extra hours increases satisfaction in some while reducing it in others. This effect depends on the interplay between the positive effects (e.g., worktime pay, sense of achievement, etc.) and negative effects (e.g., work-family interference, work stress, etc.). Clark and Senik [18] refer to the different structures of the French and British labour markets to explain the respective worktime–happiness nexuses in these two countries and find that the French are happier with more working hours, while the British prefer a shorter work week. Booth and Ours [20] examine the part-time work effect and find that women with children are happier if they can work part-time jobs for less than 15 h per week while raising children. They also find that men with children aged from 5 to 15 years are less happy than men with children of other ages. For couples without children, they find that part-time jobs make men happier, while the number of working hours has no impact on women’s life satisfaction. In this study, we use the actual working hours rather than contracted hours of work to explore their impact on European’s life satisfaction using the latest 2020 data.