Department of SociologyUniversity of MarylandCollege Park, MD 20742

presser@socy.umd.edu

Major Points• The movement toward a 24/7 service economy has

created a demand for millions of Americans, including parents with young children, to work evening, night, or rotating shifts, as well as weekends.

• The demand for late-hour employment has profound consequences for individual well-being, the nature and stability of family life, the way we care for children, and child well-being.

• Our failure to take into account the temporal complexity of work time and its consequences for family life compromises the effectiveness of work and family policies, including child care policies for low-income women.

Reasons for the 24/7 economy

3) Changing technology• Able to be ‘on call’ at all hours• Reduced costs

2) Changing demography• Aging population

– more 24/7 health care• Postponement of marriage and more dual-earner households

– more 24/7 travel and entertainment

1) Growth of service economy– more 24/7 than manufacturing

• Increased employment of women

Manufacturing

*Selected Services

NOTE: ‘SELECTED SERVICES’ include ‘Information,’ ‘Professional and business services,’ ‘Education and health services,’ ‘Leisure and hospitality.’ and ‘Other services.’

Prevalence of non-daytime and weekend employment[May 1997 Current Population Survey]

• All employed Americans– 1 in 5 work most of their hours in the evenings or nights, or

work a rotating schedule– 1 in 3 work Saturdays and/or Sundays– Considering both together, 2 in 5 work late shifts and/or

weekends

• Dual earner couples with children under age 5– 1 in 3 have a spouse who works most hours in the

evenings, nights, or has a rotating schedule

• All these ratios are higher for low-income Americans

• Single mothers more likely to work late shifts than married mothers

Percentage of Employed Mothers With Children Under Age 14 Who Work Nonstandard Hours

and Weekends by Marital Status

Weekends 33.2% 23.9%

Nonstandard hours 20.8% 16.4%

[May 1997 Current Population Survey]

Single Married

The Top Ten Occupations of Nonday Workers

Rank Occupation % of all occupations

1 Cashiers 4.7

2 Truck drivers 4.1

3 Waiters and waitresses 3.3

4 Cooks 3.2

5 Janitors and cleaners 3.1

6 Supervisors and proprietors, Sales 2.8

7 Registered nurses 2.8

8 Managers, food serving, and lodging 2.6

9 Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants 2.5

10 Managers and administrators, n.e.c.* 2.2

* Not elsewhere classified Sum of top 10 = 31.3%

[May 1997 Current Population Survey]

Consequences for family life

• Poorer quality of marriages (evenings and nights)

• Greater marital instability (nights only)• Greater participation of men in household

chores• Less parent-child interaction (e.g., fewer

dinners as a family with evening shifts)• Greater participation of fathers and

grandmothers in child care• Greater complexity of child care arrangements

(e.g., reliance on more providers)

Greater complexity of child care

• More providers used: greater potential for breakdowns in care and more instability over time

• More children in unsupervised care, or care by older siblings, if parents are sleeping during the day

Percent of employed married fathers with children under age 5 who provide care when

mothers are at work

When mother works evenings

or nights

80.9%

When mother works days 29.2%

When mother on rotating schedule

61.5%

[National Survey of Families and Households]

Percent of grandmothers who provide care for young children of single employed

mothers

Mother on evening or night shift

36.5%

Mother on day shift 30.9%

[National Survey of Families and Households]

Mother on rotating shift 57.5%

Need for more public discourse• Unmet need for evening and night care for

children of low-income single mothers is substantial, yet difficult to find providers for late hour care. Many young children left unsupervised.– Need to expand the availability of evening and night

care– Need to provide more child care subsidies to low-

income mothers so they can afford to work during the daytime

• Desires of consumers (and business) versus health and social consequences for employees and their families.– We want 24/7 service– Growing demand creates new (low paying) jobs