Stress at Home, Peace at Work: A Test of the Time Bind Hypothesis

Objective . We test the central thesis of Hochschild's (1997) The Time Bind : people who are unsatisfied with housework, parenting, or their marriage work more hours, or at a minimum prefer to work more hours, especially if satisfaction with work is high. Methods . Using the data from the 1987–1988 National Survey of Families and Households, we analyzed the influence of work and home satisfaction on the actual and desired work hours of 1,533 respondents who were employed, married to an employed spouse, and had one or more resident children under age 18. Results . We found that people who were more satisfied with work than home or who were dissatisfied with home life in general did not work more hours or even desire to do so. Conclusions . Contrary to Hochschild's assertions, there was little evidence that working parents dissatisfied with home life worked more hours or desired to spend more time at work.