The Effects of “Overwork” on Marriage Timing

Abstract

Rising expectations for 'overwork' are detrimental to many dimensions of well-being. In populations with small family sizes, excessive work demands are perceived as a primary contributing factor to fertility rates falling below 1.0 birth per woman, with one important mechanism being a delay in the timing of marriage (i.e., the tempo effect). Assessing the effects of employment norms and behaviors on marriage is challenging, as work practices and partner selection share many common causes. To bring evidence to this discussion, I investigate a natural experiment setting in South Korea, where two large-scale legislative

changes restricting weekly working hours have been implemented. I combine an instrumental variable (IV) approach with survival analysis to investigate the causal effect of overwork on the timing of first marriage. The findings indicate that an additional 10 hours of weekly working hours result in approximately a 5-6 year delay in marriage, depending on the expected age at marriage. Furthermore, the delay is more pronounced among women than men, highlighting the interplay between gendered norms and labor practices.