Wages and Job Flexibility in Care Occupations: Perquisites or Tradeoffs?

• In Event: 256 - Section on Organizations, Occupations and Work Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Family Leave and Flexible Work Arrangements

Abstract

We examine the relative pay of care work occupations and consider whether several measures of job flexibility reduce or increase these pay gaps and premiums. Using the National Study of the Changing Workforce 1997, 2002, and 2008 data, we find a 9 percent pay penalty for care work. Several job flexibility measures are associated with wages: Workers with paid vacation days enjoy a 17% pay premium; while workers who want more hours than they currently work pay a 15% pay penalty. We find that three of the job flexibility measures reduce the effect on wages of working in a care occupation (having control over your start and stop times, having control over your work schedule, and having paid vacation). Models are shown for individual care work occupations and for occupations broken into 4 prestige levels.

Authors

• Kristin Smith, University of New Hampshire

• Nancy Folbre, University of Massachusetts