Degree of Contribution

Lead

Document Type

Book Chapter

Keywords

nonstandard work schedules; night work; work family conflict; life satisfaction; employed mothers; employed fathers

Disciplines

Family, Life Course, and Society | Work, Economy and Organizations

Abstract

Purpose - I test the hypothesis that the effects of evening and night employment on working parents’ work-to-family conflict and life satisfaction depend on the reasons that individuals name for their schedules.

Methodology/approach - Regression models are fitted to data from an original sample of 589 employed U.S. parents.

Findings –Partnered (married and cohabiting) fathers who work partially in the evening or night experience less work-to-family conflict if they report personal motives, but schedule motivation does not affect work-to-family conflict among partnered or single mothers. Partnered mothers who work primarily in the evening or at night report higher life satisfaction if they do so for personal reasons, but this effect is not found for single mothers or partnered fathers. Specifically seeing their schedules as facilitating family care matters for partnered mothers, but not fathers.

Originality/value – Although nonstandard employment schedules have been linked to poor well-being among working parents, this is the first quantitative study to assess the role of worker motivation to the author’s knowledge.

Research limitations/implications – The results are suggestive because they are based on a non-probability sample of modest size. However, they demonstrate the need for future studies of employment scheduling to collect information on worker motivations.

Social implications – Most night workers in the U.S. do not select their shifts for personal reasons, putting them at risk for work-to-family conflict and reduced life satisfaction. They deserve extra support in exchange for laboring while others sleep or spend time with family.

Publication Title

, Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research, Volume 13 (The Work-Family Interface: Spillover, Complications, and Challenges)

Article Number

1020

Publication Date

2018

First Page

131

Last Page

156

DOI of Published Version

10.1108/S1530-353520180000013008

Publisher

Emerald Publishing Limited

Language

English

Peer Reviewed

1

Version

Post-publication

Funder

Avery Publishing

Content Type

Text

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