For this analysis, long hours workers are divided into a group of 'volunteers' who work and prefer long hours and a group of 'conscripts' who work long hours but prefer shorter hours. The results suggest that:
(i) high levels of debt are mainly associated with conscript status;
(ii) ideal worker types can be found among both volunteers and conscripts, but are much more likely to be conscripts; and (iii) women are relatively rare among long hours workers, and especially long hours volunteers, suggesting long hours jobs may be discriminatory. The research highlights the importance of distinguishing conscripts and volunteers to understand the prevalence and dynamics of long work hours.