Impact of Working Time Mismatch on Job Satisfaction: Evidence for German Workers with Disabilities

This study examines the impact of working time mismatch (i.e. the discrepancy between actual and desired working hours) on individuals’ job satisfaction by disability status in Germany. Our particular interest is in testing the assumption that working time mismatch is a more serious problem among workers with disabilities as compared to workers without disabilities, especially concerning the presence of overemployment. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985–2011), we estimate a “Probit Adapted OLS” model which allows us to identify the factors affecting job satisfaction for people without and with disabilities. The results indicate that all workers suffering from working time mismatch are more likely to report lower levels of job satisfaction compared to those who actually work their desired hours. In addition, all selected groups of females with disabilities prefer lower hours of work per week compared to females without disabilities. Although overemployment is clearly more harmful in terms of job satisfaction than underemployment for all workers, its impact is even higher for females with disabilities as compared to their non-disabled counterparts. From a public policy perspective, these findings show the importance of reducing working time mismatch in general and overemployment in particular among females with disabilities in order to increase their levels of job satisfaction.