Do Women Prefer Part-Time Jobs as Compared to Men - Research Proposal Example

Do Women Prefer Part-Time Jobs as Compared to Men? Registration Number Degree Module Number of Words: 2,044 Part I Literature Review The OEDC Employment Outlook Report (2002) revealed that more women are participating in the corporate world as the number of male employees decline. Because of the gender wage gap between the two sexes, male employees tend to work for shorter number of hours as compared to female employees who works more than 45 hours/week (OECD 2002). According to Kuhn (2000), the preferred allocation of time between work and leisure significantly affects the type of employment men and women would consider. Since full-time employment requires employees to spend fixed number of hours at the office, more women who are single mothers are becoming attracted to part-time jobs. Aside from the presence of gender wage gap in our society, the high unemployment rate and standard of living are also affecting the widening gap between the available leisure time of women and their income distribution (Terra and y Carmen Estrades 2007). It means that single parents who are maintaining high standards of living may choose to have part-time jobs that pay well as compared to having a full-time employment with lesser income. It is also possible for single mothers with part-time job to spend more time at work in case there is a need to earn more money to support the child’s educational need. Changes in the demographic situation also significantly affect the income and leisure distribution of each employee. In line with this, Beblo and Robledo (2003) explained that the more children a single mother have, the more time she is likely to spend on working. Likewise, Glomm and Ravikumar (2003) revealed that the higher the educational attainment men and women have could also affect the kind of job employment and pay they will receive from their employer. Since there is a very tight competition in UK labour market, the less educated people are the ones who will end up having a white collar job (Turrini 1998). Having excessively high salary is not the only factor behind a person’s happiness and satisfaction with work. The available time men and women have for themselves also matters. Upon analyzing the entire situation, several studies revealed that it is necessary for men and women to be able to balance their time between work and leisure to allow them to have more quality time with their children (MacInnes, 2005; Marks et al. 2001). Between men and women, it is the women population who are mostly affected by pregnancy and the social consequences after child birth. For female employees to be able to recover from childbirth, this group of employees will have to file at least two to three months maternal leave before and after the schedule of delivery. Because of women’s need to divide their time between work and home obligations, less female employees are competing to reach the top-level management position as compared to their counterparts (Gutierrez-Domènech 2003). Aim of the Research Study With regards to the financial rewards and employment benefit one can have with full-time employment opportunity, this study aims to determine the reasons why most female employees have part-time job as compared to male employees. Research Objectives The research objectives will seek to identify the reasons why most women would prefer to have a part-time job as compared to full-time career. To answer the research question, the following sub-objectives will be considered in this study: Economic condition in UK A growing economy means higher demand for labour. Because of the high unemployment rate in UK, a lot of women who are single mothers are becoming open to grab part-time job opportunities. Increasing number of single mothers A social survey trend revealed that the number of single parent families in UK is uncontrollably increasing (BBC 2004). Aside from having more time to take care of the children, financial expenses are less burdensome in a family setting wherein a married couple shares their monthly household expenses. On the contrary, a single mothers need to divide their time between work and her duty as a mother. Part II Proposed Research Method As compared to men, this study aims to determine the reason why most female employees end up having part-time jobs. In response to the research aims and objectives, this study will combine the use of quantitative and qualitative research study approach similar to the kind of questions presented by Martinez et al. (2007) and Davidson et al. (2001). To distribute the prepared research survey questionnaire to highly qualified research respondents, the researcher will have to do a face-to-face interaction with the randomly selected research survey respondents. The first part of the research questionnaire will focus on determining the socio-economic background of the randomly selected research survey participants. Aside from the use of research questions that are answerable by ‘yes’ or ‘no’, the research survey questionnaire was also designed to determine the participants’ current employment status, job position, number of hours they spend working, the person-in-charge of taking care of their children while at work, and number of months spent on maternity leave. (See Appendix I – Research Survey Questionnaire on page 11) The accuracy and validity of the study results is highly dependent on strategic questioning. For this reason, it is important the make sure that the questions used in the questionnaire is somehow pertaining to the aims and objectives of the research study. Scientific-based quantitiave research method is effective in determining the reliability of the research questions (Anderson 1983). To gather a general overview concerning the research study results, it is necessary on the part of the researcher to make use of descriptive quantitative method (Leong 1985). Since the use of quantitative method does not provide the researcher with a more accurate study observation, using a pure quantitative approach in research will only make the researcher speculate on the research study results. Patton (1990, pp. 66 – 91) explained that a phenomenological research approach make use of qualitative inquiry concerning the research study questions. Since the use of this approach will empower the researcher in terms of having a better understanding why more women ends up having a part-time job, it is best to apply qualitative approach in research together with quantitative approach in order to avoid coming up with a bias study conclusion. It is possible to increase the accuracy of the research survey result of a quantitative question by using a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ type of questions followed by an open-ended questions like ‘why’ or ‘what’. For example: After asking whether or not the research survey respondent feels that he or she have enough time to take care of his or her child(ren), an open-ended question asking why does the research survey respondents have enough time to take care of their children will give the researcher a better idea with regards to the lifestyle and the research respondents’ perception with regards to spending long hours at work. Research Study Population and Sample Size In this study, the actual research survey will gather randomly selected 100 men and 100 women between the age bracket of 25 to 60 years who are currently employed in either government or private sector. The rationale behind dividing the group of research survey respondents between men and women is to enable the researcher gather the personal opinion of men and women when it comes to selecting their preferred employment arrangement. In this study, the research respondents are randomly selected in order to avoid the risk of manipulating the research study results. Proposed Site for the Research Study Since it would be difficult on the part of the researcher to locate working individuals by visiting one company to another, the chosen site for this study would be either inside or outside a nearby shopping mall. In order to increase the chances wherein the researcher will be able to locate as much as 200 men and women who are currently employed, the researcher will distribute the research survey questionnaire on Sundays when most of the researcher’s target research survey respondents are unwinding from work. Proposed Research Evaluation Method Considering that the research survey questionnaire is composed of combined quantitative and qualitative research questions, the researcher will gather and analyze the descriptive quantitative data using excel software. Eventually, the gathered data from the survey study will be interpreted together with the literature review in order to lessen the risk of having bias and unreliable research survey findings. Scope and Limitations of the Proposed Research Process Since women need to balance their time between childcare and work responsibilities, more women are likely to accept the idea of having part-time job. Even though the proposed research study can be very informative when it comes to determining why most women would prefer to have part-time employment as compared to full-time employment, this study is limited in terms of determining the influence of socio-cultural or ethnic in the decision-making of women. The research survey questionnaire was designed in to learn more about the demographic information, the type of employment, and the number of hours each of the research survey respondent is spending each day working. Even though the proposed research study seek to identify whether or not the research participants are satisfied with the pay they are receiving from their current employer, this study will not focus on determining the financial status of each of the research survey respondents. For this reason, the study result cannot be used in determining whether men and women with in less fortunate families are likely to work for more than 8 hours each day. Since the designed research survey questionnaire failed to consider the educational attainment of the research survey respondents, the study results will not be sufficient in terms of determining whether or not men and women who are able to earn masters or PhD degree have the tendency to seek for part-time employment opportunity. Given that this study will not examine whether or not the research participants have physical disabilities, the study results cannot be used in determining whether men and women with physical disabilities are more likely to look for home-based part-time employment opportunities. Foreseeable Difficulties that could Affect the Success of the Proposed Research Study It is expected that some people in the mall are too busy shopping or hanging out with their family members or friends. As part of research ethics, researcher should not only seek the approval of a potential research respondent. Likewise, it is ethical to respect the decision of the target research respondents whether or not they are willing to participate in the research survey study. To minimize the risk of being rejected, the researcher should observe the target research respondents before approaching them. In case a prospective research respondent is hanging out in a coffee shop without doing anything, it is advisable on the part of the researcher to approach the target research respondents and explain to them the main purpose of the study. In case a target research respondent is busy doing something, it is best to respect their privacy by not disturbing them. Proposed Budget The estimated cost for the research study is £50. Basically, the bulk of the research expenses will be spent mostly on the printing followed by the food allowances and travel expenses. (See Table I – Allocation of Fund on page 10) Table I – Allocation of Fund Research Schedule The proposed research study will be conducted within the next two months. Within the first month, the researcher will focused on completing the first three chapters of the research study. In line with this, the first chapter will provide the readers with the research study introduction. The second chapter will focused on the literature review. The third chapter will focus on the research methodology. Eventually, the researcher will design and complete the research survey questionnaires. Before printing the questionnaire, the researcher will go through the research survey questionnaire for several times to ensure that the research survey questionnaire is aligned with the main purpose and objectives of the study. On the second week of the second month, the researcher will spend two Sundays in a mall in order to search for prospective research survey respondents. On the 8th week onwards, the researcher will start tallying the quantitative research data followed by analyzing the quantitative and qualitative research findings together with the literature review. (See Appendix II – Proposed Research Schedule on page 12) Appendix I – Research Survey Questionnaire Sex: ___ male; ------ female Age: ___ below 21; ___ 22 – 30; ___ 31 – 40; ___ 41 – 50; ___ 51 – 60 Status: ___ Single; ___ Married; ___ Divorce / Separated Children: ___ 1 child; ___ 2 children; ___ 2 or more children; ___ none 1. Are you currently employed?  ( ) A. Yes B. No 2. Do you consider economic performance in UK to have an impact with the kind of employment you have? A. Yes B. No 3. What kind of employment do you have? ( ) A. Part-time B. Full-time C. Self-employed 4. If you have a child or children, are you personally responsible for childcare?  ( ) A. Yes B. No Note: If you have part-time job or have at least one child, please proceed to the following questions. 5. Is it your personal choice to have a part-time job rather than a full-time job? ___ Yes; ___ No; If No, why? _____________________________________________________ 6. What kind of job do you have? ( ) A. Managerial Position D. Professional Jobs B. Secretarial Position E. Others: ___________________________________ C. Sales Agent 7. How many hours do you need to work each day? ___ 4 – 5 hours; ___6 – 8 hours; ___ 9 – 10 hours; ____ more than 11 hours 8. Given that you have part-time employment, do you feel that you have enough time to take care of your child / children?  ( ) ___ Yes; ___ No; If No, why? _____________________________________________________ 9. Who takes care of your child / children while you are working? ( ) A. Parents C. Day Care Centre B. Nanny D. Others; ____________________________ 10. Are you satisfied with the pay you are receiving from your current job? ( ) A. Yes B. No 11. If you are female, did you quit your job before or after giving birth? ( ) A. Yes B. No 12. If yes, how long did you stop working? ( ) A. One month C. Three months B. Two months D. More than three months Why? _________________________________________________________________________ 13. Do you think that being a single mother affects the kind of employment you have right now? ( ) ___ Yes; ___ No; If No, why? _____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ *** Thank You *** Appendix II – Proposed Research Schedule Events 1 First Chapter   2 Second Chapter     3 Third Chapter     4 Design a Qualitative and Quantitative Research Survey Questionnaire       5 Review the Research Survey Questionnaire     6 Spend Two Sundays in a Mall       7 Tally Quantitative Data and Analyze Results together with Literature Review     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Week References Anderson, P., 1983. Marketing, Scientific Progress, and Scientific. Method Journal of Marketing , pp. 18 - 31. 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Endogenous education policy and increasing income inequality between skilled and unskilled workers. European Journal of Political Economy , 14(2), pp. 303-326. Read More