Temporal Insecurity: Fixed-Term Contracts

Besides the specific economic situation, the prospect of the future development of the working ca- reer is also of relevance for childbearing decisions: According to Oppenheimer’s Theory of Marriage Timing (1988), individuals are more prone to make long-term commitments (like marrying and hav- ing children) if their future career development is foreseeable. This relates not only to the income needed to nurture a child – in the sense of economic security as discussed above – but also to other work-related factors:

“(…) work structures life in many ways (…) Hence, if the nature of adult work roles appears very uncertain, so does the fabric of one’s future life. For example, will work involve traveling exten- sively, reducing time spent together at home? Will the family have to move often because of job transfers? Does the job entail frequent overtime work on nights and weekends or working night shifts? (…)” (Oppenheimer 1988:574).

Therefore, a situation of temporal insecurity should lead workers to postpone childbirth until a se- cure, permanent position is reached and the couple can make life plans more easily. This strategy is also advisable according to Birg et al.’s Biographical Theory of Demographic Reproduction (1991). This theory highlights the fact that having children not only entails monetary opportunity costs but also comes with biographical opportunity costs in the sense that one’s biographical options are reduced considerably after the birth of a child. For example, the couple becomes less flexible re- garding location of workplace and working hours. Workers who exit the labour market for a period of parental leave can experience a career penalty (Aisenbrey, Evertsson and Grunow 2009). Against this background, people will seek first to establish a secure and successful working career before the birth of their child.

110 From the perspective of temporal security, fixed-term contracts have to be classified as com- paratively insecure: They exhibit not only an elevated risk of unemployment but also a high risk of repeating themselves in “chains of temporary employment” (e.g. Giesecke and Groß 2003:162). This especially applies in East Germany, where the transition rate from fixed-term to permanent employment is particularly low. Moreover, the long-term employability and career development of fixed-term contract workers are impaired due to lower access to formal training. Furthermore, un- der the current parental leave scheme, employment breaks on fixed-term contracts due to child- birth often result in subsequent job loss: Generally, all employees are entitled to three years of unpaid leave with a job guarantee. This does not hold, however, for fixed-term contracts that ter- minate during the leave period. As the vast majority of fixed-term contracts have durations of less than two years and many are even shorter than one year, it can be assumed that many fixed-term workers lose their job entitlements during parental leave. Therefore, fixed-term contracts can be expected to exert a negative influence on first childbirth due to the unforeseeable future employ- ment career and/or reduced career opportunities.

Another argument for a negative effect of temporal insecurity on first childbirth stems from the fact that the competition for time and energy between work and family can be more pro- nounced in temporary positions. Fixed-term jobs are often used as screening tools by employers before hiring workers permanently and can therefore constitute stepping stones to permanent em- ployment. However, many fixed-term workers experience pressure to demonstrate competence and motivation in order to be considered for a permanent contract. They might feel obliged to accept overtime and weekend work and be afraid to miss work due to sickness or other obligations. Also, permanent workers who experience subjective job insecurity might overcommit to their work in order to avoid being dismissed. These situations are difficult to combine with care work.

Moreover, temporal insecurity might negatively impact the likelihood of childbirth by decreas- ing partnership quality. This might firstly be due to reduced time spent with the partner and fewer joint leisure activities resulting from the high workload. Secondly, job insecurity puts a psychological strain on the worker and can cause stress (Linne and Voswinkel 1989; Sverke et al. 2006). As Fried- man et al. (1994) have argued in their Uncertainty Reduction Theory, people generally strive for certainty and experience states of uncertainty as unpleasant. The negative mood caused by job insecurity can spill over from the work context to the private lives of employees and negatively affect partnership quality (Hughes, Galinsky and Morris 1992). Moreover, studies have demon- strated that stress and strain are not only transmitted intra-individually from one sphere of life to the other, but also inter-individually from one partner to the other in the form of a crossover pro- cess (see Chapter 1). Thus, the partner can also be negatively affected by the uncertainty caused by

111 temporary employment. Both spillover and crossover can create tensions and arguments with the partner and can eventually result in partnership dissolution (see Chapter 7).

The aforementioned arguments – unforeseeable career and inability to make life plans, over- achievement at work, and negative mood spillover and crossover resulting in reduced partnership quality – all point to a negative effect of temporal insecurity on first childbirth. Yet the literature has also frequently cited a contrasting argument: From a theory of action perspective, employees might try to compensate for a dissatisfying situation in the work sphere by seeking higher satisfac- tion in the family sphere (Edwards and Rothbard 2000; Lambert 1990). Employees experiencing temporal insecurity could react to this situation by getting more involved in family life and speeding up childbearing. As mentioned, according to the Uncertainty Reduction Theory of Parenthood (Friedman et al. 1994) people generally strive to reduce uncertainty. This can be achieved most thoroughly by a stable employment career, marriage or parenthood. These commitments embed people in long-lasting social relations, and this in turn generates certainty. If certainty cannot be achieved via a secure employment career, people are presumably more likely to start a family in order to gain certainty. Similarly, Tölke and Diewald (2003a) reason that a lack of satisfaction or success in the work sphere should lead to seeking these aspects in the family sphere. These theo- retical considerations gain support from survey research: Klein and Eckhard (2008) find that a con- siderable proportion of childless people (33% of men and 39% of women) consider parenthood an alternative to gainful employment.

5.2.1.3 Accumulation of Economic and Temporal Insecurity: Fixed-Term Part-Time Work and