Home-based employment and quality of life: a time-use analysis

Abstract

Accompanying a growing trend towards home-based work are expectations that those who undertake it will have the quality of their lives improved. It is difficult to measure this systematically in the absence of accessible sampling frames. National time-use surveys help fulfill this objective through a two step process. The current paper demonstrates this process on time-use files from Sweden (1990-91) and Canada (1992). Home-based workers in both countries are shown to accomplish individual and family objectives but not those concerning greater neighboring and local participation. Gender inequalities increase with home-based work for reasons which are not explained by these data.