Interaction Effects of Reduced Working Hours and Flexible Working Hours on Drinking Behavior

This study investigates the interaction effects of reducing working hours and the flexibility of working hours on drinking behavior. To identify the causal effects of working hours and their interaction with the flexibility of working hours, we exploit the reduction of the standard workweek from 44 to 40 hours in Korea as a quasi-experimental design. The result indicates that a reduction in working hours was not only found to have no effect on reducing drinking, but also to have the potential to increase drinking. However, we found that impact of reduced work hours on drinking behavior may vary depending on the status of workers’ flexibility of working hours. Workers with flexible working hours may decrease their drinking behavior when working fewer hours, while those without flexible working hours may increase their drinking behavior when working fewer hours.