| By: |
Hennecke, Juliane (Auckland University of Technology);
Hetschko, Clemens (University of Leeds) |
| Abstract: |
Work as well as family life are crucial sources of human wellbeing, which
however often interfere. This is especially so if partners work in the same
occupation or industry. At the same time, being work-linked may benefit their
career success. Still, surprisingly little is known about the wellbeing of
work-linked couples. Our study fills this gap by examining the satisfaction
differences between work-linked and non-work-linked partners. Using data from
the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP, 2019), we estimate the effect of
working in the same occupation and/or industry on life satisfaction as well as
satisfaction with four areas of life: income, work, family and leisure. In the
process, we employ pooled OLS estimations and instrumental variable
strategies, for instance based on the gender disparity in industries and
occupations. Our results suggest that being work-linked increases satisfaction
with life as well as income and job satisfaction. These findings are
consistent with positive assortative matching and mutual career support
between work-linked partners. Our conclusions concern hiring couples as a
means of recruiting exceptional talent. |
| Keywords: |
work-linked couples, wellbeing, assortative matching, relationship quality, work-life balance, copreneurs, occupational gender disparity, dual career support |
| JEL: |
I31 J12 J21 J44 M51 |
| Date: |
2021–03 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14239&r=all |