The Career Quandary PRB Reports on America Vol.
More workers have a long work week.
For example, according to research by Clarkberg and Moen, most people would prefer to work fewer hours than they do. This is true for both men and women. Older workers who would like to work less but are unable to do so tend to retire from their primary career jobs if they can afford to. But the majority of workers under 60 are strongly committed to their work roles and continue working more hours than they would prefer. Work hours reflect an amalgam of employee preferences, employer demands, and the institutional environment of contemporary work, with a considerable disparity between workers' self-reports of preferences and their actual behavior.