satisfaction and wellbeing (de Lange,
Taris, Kompier, Houtman, & Bongers,
2003; Karasek & Theorell, 1990; Sundin
2009).
The levels of control and demands on
the job are also shown to strongly influ-
ence work-life balance. High demands at
work increase the risk of experiencing
workfamily conflicts (Chung, 2011;
Fagan & Walthery, 2011; Gro
¨
nlund,
2007). However, research on the influ-
ence of high levels of control and flex-
ibility at work show varying results. Some
studies note that increasing levels of
flexibility and control enhance the com-
bination of work and family life, but
other studies indicate that a high level of
flexibility and control at work has
negative effects on workfamily balance
(Fagan & Walthery, 2011; Gro
¨
nlund,
2004). The latter might be explained by
the fact that a high level of control and
flexibility at work requires the individual
to be accessible at all times*they must
be on call during unexpected private
and family matters. Work and private
matters tend to conflict, which can be
perceived as stressful and negative to
work-life balance (Allvin, Aronsson,
Hagstro
¨
m, Johansson, & Lundberg,
2004; Gro
¨
nlund, 2004; Jonsson, 2007).
In comparing the levels of wellbeing
and work-life balance among self-
employed men and women with those of
male and female employees, there are, on
the one hand, reasons to believe that the
levels observed should be higher for
the self-employed than those observed
for the employed; however, there are, on
the other hand, also reasons to believe
that the levels observed should be lower
for the self-employed than those observed
for the employed. Various hypotheses
exist concerning these possible differ-
ences between men and women.
Self-employment and psychosocial
working conditions in micro-enterprises
often mean close relationships, flexibility
and control: these factors can facilitate a
balance between work and family respon-
sibilities, reduce stress and promote good
health. Several studies show that the self-
employed have very high decision author-
ity, control how work is organised and
control how resources are distributed at
their workplace, as they often own their
own enterprise (Hundley, 2001; Stephan
& Roesler, 2010). Research has found
that the self-employed have higher levels
of job control concerning autonomy,
discretion and opportunities for skill-
utilisation than employees (Hundley,
2001; Stephan & Roesler, 2010).
Conversely, most research on the char-
acteristics of the self-employed finds that
they report higher job demands and a
higher workload than do employees
(Stephan & Roesler, 2010). Working
conditions in micro-enterprises often en-
tail working long, irregular and arduous
hours with a great deal of time pressure
and heavy workloads (Lindstro
¨
m et al.,
2000). In a Swedish study of small-scale
entrepreneurs (Gunnarsson, 2010), re-
sults show that long working hours were
more common among entrepreneurs
than among employees. Some maintain
that leadership is authoritarian and work-
ing conditions are unsatisfactory with
a high risk of injury and poor physical
working environments (Gunnarsson,
2010; Wilkinson, 1999). These factors
might have a negative influence on the
level of wellbeing and work-life balance,
and this should be true particularly for
women, who often carry the main re-
sponsibility of maintaining the household
Work-life balance and wellbeing among self-employed men and women in Europe
3
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