The effects of non-standard employment on work-family conflict

Over the last five decades the Australian labour market has changed profoundly, one prominent aspect being an increase in non-standard forms of employment. Using data from the first wave of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia project, this article explores whether non-standard employment is associated with greater or reduced work-family conflict among employed parents and whether experiences vary by gender. We focus on three types of non-standard employment: part-time hours, casual and fixed-term contracts and non-standard scheduling practices. Regression analyses show that mothers who work full-time rather than part-time experience significantly greater work-family conflict. Casual employment is not linked to a reduction in work-family conflict for either mothers or fathers once we control for working hours. Even though mothers are the primary carer in most families, mothers do not report greater work-family conflict than fathers. We attribute this finding to gender differences in the time spent in employment.