Work-Life imbalance in extended working lives: Domestic divisions of labour and partners' perceptions of job pressures of non-retiring older workers

Abstract

Extending working lives prolongs existing patterns of time spent in work or with family into later life. Analysis of European Social Survey data shows a widening in inequitable domestic divisions of labour in households with post-retirement age workers. We explore partners' perceptions of older workers' job pressures when close to or beyond retirement age. Partners' concerns about job pressures are found not to be immediately associated with inequitable divisions of domestic labour but with the extent to which workers can determine the organisation of paid work and, specifically, tiredness after work. The paper argues that note should be taken of these concerns as they may be indicative of risks of intra-domestic stress.