Parents’ nonstandard work schedules and children’s social and emotional wellbeing: A mixed-methods analysis in Germany

Abstract


 
 
 
 
 Many children live in households where either one or both parents work nonstandard schedules in the evening, night or weekend. Using a mixed methods design, this study examined whether nonstandard work schedules were linked to lower social and emotional wellbeing in children. The quantitative analysis based on the German Family Panel Study (pairfam) showed that children whose parents worked rotating shifts and other types of nonstandard schedules reported elevated levels of emotional and conduct problems. However, not all types of nonstandard schedules were detrimental to child wellbeing: fixed shift work did not have a negative impact on child social and emotional wellbeing. Overall, the effect of mothers’ work schedule on child wellbeing was stronger than that of fathers. The qualitative interviews revealed that nonstandard work schedules made everyday life unsettling and family environment chaotic because it was difficult to plan. Thus, for most families where one or both parents worked such schedules stress was a defining feature of the daily life and parents accepted it as “part of their life”. Families used different strategies to deal with stress and attempted to protect children from it. Contingent on what resources available to them, some families managed well, while others did not cope so well and children were adversely affected.
 
 
 
 

Family and work‐related risk factors in children's social–emotional well‐being and parent–educator cooperation in flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care

“…The discovered gender differences in children's reactions to the risk factors in our study are supported by some previous research (Claessens & Chen, 2013; Li et al, 2020; Morrisey, 2009). Scholars have emphasised a child's gender as an important moderating factor (Winer & Phillips, 2012) that ought to be considered when investigating children's well‐being in the context of parental NSWS (Li et al, 2014).…”

“…Based on previous research (Claessens & Chen, 2013; Li et al, 2014), we hypothesised that the associations between various family‐ and work‐related risk factors would affect boys' and girls' social–emotional well‐being in flexible scheduled ECEC differently. However, we did not make more specific gender‐related expectations concerning the work and care arrangement effects on boys and girls due to contradictory findings in previous research (Li et al, 2020; Morrisey, 2009; Rönkä, Malinen, Metsäpelto, et al, 2017).…”

“…However, studies exploring the associations between the different forms of childcare and the children's gender seem to be limited, especially in the context of flexibly scheduled ECEC. Regarding a child's age, Li et al (2020) found that the younger children were, more emotional and conduct problems were reported related to parent's NSWS. Furthermore, girls experienced more emotional problems, while boys experienced more conduct problems.…”

Parents' nonstandard work schedules and parents' perception of adolescent social and emotional wellbeing

“…Despite consistent evidence for negative effects of parents' nonstandard work schedules on young children (Grzywacz et al, 2016;Han, 2020;Kaiser et al, 2019;Li et al, 2014;Li et al, 2020), relatively few studies have examined the association between such work schedules and adolescent mental health (Dockery et al, 2009;Dockery et al, 2016;Han et al, 2010;Han & Miller, 2009). This is despite the fact that adolescents are at greater risk of anxiety and depression than young children (Andersen & Teicher, 2008), have a high incidence of suicide (Andersen & Teicher, 2008) and engage in more risk-taking behaviour (e.g., excessive alcohol consumption and substance use) (Squeglia et al, 2009).…”

The puzzles of daily life: The temporal orders of families when parents have non‐standard work schedules

“…Non‐standard work schedules can be asynchronous with the institutional rhythm of ECEC services, with leisure and community activities, with the individual rhythms of other family members and with family rhythms, such as the timings of family meals or other activities. Some studies have found that parents' non‐standard work schedules can make family environments chaotic because of the difficulties of planning everyday life (Li et al, 2020). Aho (2019) used the concept of ‘rhythm conflicts’ when describing the unsynchronised social rhythms that truck drivers face in their work and personal lives, including their family members' rhythms and the rhythms of other social and leisure activities.…”