Part-time work for women: Does it really help balance work and family?

Results of this study suggest that the differential response of women to part-time work as opposed to a career may be a function of motivational and work-context differences between career and non-career women. Part-time work was associated with lower work-to-family interference, better time management ability, and greater life satisfaction for women in both career and earner-type positions. Role overload, family-to-work interference, and family time management, however, were dependent on job type with beneficial effects for earners but not for career women. Job type also played a role: Career women reported higher life satisfaction and lower depressed mood than did women in earner positions. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.