A Matter of Hours

Part-time work has been the main form of employment to grow in Britain in recent years, while full-time work has declined. What is the significance of the fact that part-time work is overwhelmingly done by women? What are the implications of this for our theoretical understanding of work and of labour markets, and for policies about the future of work? This book addresses these questions by focusing systematically on the development of part-time work and its place in the overall organization of the labour process. It uses the findings of the authors' own detailed case study to document the different determinants of the use of part-time labour in different industries, between public sector and private sector employees, and in periods of economic growth and economic recession, and they develop a theoretical analysis of women's employment and labour markets which foregrounds the role of gender. Thus, although the specific focus of the book is on part-time work, it should be of general interest to people concerned both with theoretical analyses of work and labour markets and with questions of policy.