For both men and women, work overflows into the home
In the lives of both men and women, there is some degree of porosity between work and private life. Work infringes on the private sphere by way of communication tools, the practice of taking work home, and, above all, work preoccupations, particularly among self-employed persons.
Home is now a more common place of work
Twenty years ago working people in France seldom took work home: only 18% under age 50 did so. The recent rise in remote working has changed that. But remote working is only the visible, regulated face of working at home (Sheet 36); people can work at home in many other ways. While very few people work only work at home, 32% of working persons now use their residence as a place of work (Fig. 1), with more women doing so than men (36% and 30% respectively). How often people work during their free time because they still have work to do after working hours (workload) varies by type of job and occupation sector. One working person in two in France reports doing so (52%); one in five say they do so all the time or often (20%). Both men and women work during non-working hours. The practice is extremely common among the self-employed and business managers (84%) (Fig. 2), an slightly more common among public-sector employees (53%) than private-sector ones (47%).
The vast majority of working people talk and think about work during non-working hours
It is very common for people to talk about their work: three-quarters of working people not living alone talk often or occasionally about their work at home (Fig. 1), with women doing so more often. Under-30s do so much more often than people aged 50 to 59, reflecting how important work is in the daily lives of young people. People also take their work worries home with them: 89% of workers keep thinking about work when not working, 53% of whom say they do so all the time or often. And here again, there would seem to be little difference by sex (Fig. 3). Self-employed and business managers are more preoccupied by their work than employees: 76% say they think about it all the time or often as against 58% of public-sector and 47% of private-sector employees.
Communication tools represent an invasion of private life, especially for the self-employed.
The general use of remote connection tools—mobile phones and message systems—work to break down any barriers between the private and work spheres. 10% of working people say they are often contacted by customers, superiors, or colleagues outside working hours; 29% say this happens occasionally (Fig. 1). For one-third of workers, work-related remote connection tools often or occasionally invade their personal and family lives. Once again, the self-employed are much more heavily affected (Fig. 4) than employees: 60% of them say this is the case (as opposed to 28% and 36%, respectively, of public- and private-sector employees); 32% of the self-employed persons say it happens all the time or often.
Being tired after work has a heavier impact on women’s family life than men’s.
Alongside mental burden, working people report that work-related fatigue keeps them from enjoying family life (Fig. 1): 36% say it does so all the time or often, 46% occasionally; and women say so more often than men. On this point, differences between employees and independents are slight.
More information
Bozon M. 2009. Comment le travail empiète et la famille déborde : différences sociales dans l’arrangement des sexes. In Pailhé A. and Solaz A. (dir.) Entre famille et travail : Des arrangements de couple aux pratiques des employeurs (p. 29-54). La Découverte.