What makes employees satisfied with their working time? The role of working hours, time-sovereignty and working conditions for working time and job satisfaction

Working time arrangements are key elements of working conditions and determine the possibilities for employees to balance work with their other life spheres. Therefore, this paper examines the level of working time satisfaction of employees and identifies the factors that may facilitate or impede satisfaction with working time using crosssectional data from the German BIBB/BAuA-Employment Survey. The analytical basis is a generalized ordered logistic regression model. The main results indicate that individual time-sovereignty is positively linked with a high level of working time satisfaction. Worker-friendly working time arrangements, which lead to less stress, insecurity and mental pressure, increase satisfaction levels, whereas atypical working time arrangements, such as unpaid overtime and working shifts, weekends and under high intensity, reduce satisfaction levels.