Swiss men are (not) transitioning to part-time work: the role of ideal worker and male breadwinner norms in occupational contexts

While Swiss men are increasingly transitioning to part-time employment, many remain working full-time despite wanting to shift to part-time work. This study investigates whether two occupation-specific cultural norms – the ideal worker and male breadwinner – influence Swiss men's preferences for and voluntary transitions to part-time work. We created a unique dataset by linking individual records from the 2004–2020 Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) to longitudinal occupational data derived from the SLFS, the Swiss Household Panel, and the job advertisements text data from Swiss Job Market Monitor. We found that in each year, 11.4% of men working full-time developed a preference for part-time work; however, only 9.4% of those with this preference made the transition. Men in occupations emphasizing devotion to work and male breadwinner norms were less likely to develop a part-time preference or switch to part-time employment, while those in occupations more supportive of a work–life balance were more likely to do so. Our findings suggest that men's preferences for and transition to part-time work are shaped by ideal worker and male breadwinner norms and that shifts in these norms could increase voluntary movement toward part-time employment.