The Methodological Contributions of Time Use Survey to Measure the Work-Life Balance

Abstract

The aim of this study is to understand the methodological contributions of Time Use Survey diary data for measuring work-life balance in Turkey. For comparison, other data sources were selected according to the criteria of having national estimates, conducted by official institutions that use scientific methods for collecting data, conducted in similar time with Time Use Survey (2014-2015) and that include questions about social life, sports, family life, unpaid work, paid work and time intensity which are the components of work-life balance. Methodological comparisons of time use survey diaries and other data sources were made for every stage of quantitative researches. All indicators on work-life balance including recommended ones by UNECE and OECD were produced by the data sources and the results were compared in a methodological manner under the headings of paid work, unpaid work, leisure time and time intensity. The disadvantages of Time Use Survey are that it’s a costly survey, respondent load and workload is very high, it’s conducted infrequently. An irregular or infrequent activity may not seem in the diaries and there is the possibility of respondent not to record all activities in diaries. But its advantages are suppressing disadvantages. Time use survey produces data of higher quality and reveals better the gender inequality than the other data sources due to its different survey methodology. Furthermore, by time use survey data it’s possible to obtain large number of work-life balance indicators by the matrix structure of the diaries with contextual variables. Total workload was one of the key indicator that only from time use survey data it could be produced and employed women were found to have the most workload due to much time is spent on unpaid work in addition to their paid work durations opposite of the situation in men. Thus, it’s recommended for the decision makers to benefit from time use survey data for developing new policies on work-life balance in Turkey.