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Making the Best of a Bad Job? Female Part‐Timers’ Orientations and Attitudes to Work
Author(s) -
Walters Sally
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
gender, work and organization
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.159
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1468-0432
pISSN - 0968-6673
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2005.00270.x
Subject(s) - work (physics) , homogeneous , paid work , class (philosophy) , qualitative research , psychology , social psychology , labour economics , demographic economics , sociology , economics , computer science , engineering , mathematics , social science , mechanical engineering , combinatorics , artificial intelligence
This article uses data from 50 qualitative interviews with female part‐time workers in low‐level jobs in Britain to illustrate their attitudes, orientations and aspirations towards paid work. The research reports two main findings. Firstly, even female part‐time workers at the bottom end of the occupational structure are not a homogeneous group of workers. Secondly, they are not all highly satisfied with their jobs. The article argues that many women (especially those in working‐class households) still do not have a genuine choice between ‘family work’ and ‘market work’. It concludes by presenting a theoretical model of orientations to work.