Precarious and Non-Traditional Hour Work Schedules: Examining the Working Conditions, Social Support, and Long-Term Trajectories

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This session broadly focuses on precarious and non-traditional work schedules among workers across different industries. Precarious or unstable work schedules (i.e. unpredictable, variable, or fluctuating hours; limited control over schedule timing or number of hours) and non-traditional hour (NTH) work, which takes place outside of weekday, standard hours (i.e. early mornings, evenings, overnights), are increasingly common across industry contexts. These schedules are often common among workers in low-wage or hourly jobs, and are especially prevalent in health care, retail, and food services, as well as in child care settings where child care providers may offer NTH care to accommodate families’ schedules (Harknett & Schneider, 2020; Lee & Henly, 2024; Hansen, 2019).

While working conditions are important across industries for workers, those working precarious and NTH schedules may have different experiences and impacts on their well-being compared to those who work standard hours. Schedule instability, long hours and shifts, and work performed during overnight or other non-standard hours may contribute to more difficult working conditions. Research has examined and documented the impacts of precarious and NTH schedules on worker health and well-being, including physical, emotional, and economic well-being (Dugan et al., 2022; Lambert et al., 2019; Harknett & Schneider, 2020). However, there is limited research regarding the impacts of these schedules on workers’ lived experiences, their social relationships, and the long-term trajectories for their physical and emotional well-being.

This session brings together a panel with expertise in workforce research and policy. Each presentation examines a variety of non-standard and precarious job schedules among workers in different industries. Each paper utilizes different data sources, methodologies, and time frames, ranging from daily experiences to longitudinal impacts. Collectively, these three papers aim to increase knowledge about the experiences of workers who work precarious and nontraditional hours. Findings from these studies have implications for driving policies to support this segment of the workforce.

Paper #1 uses a 30-year longitudinal data from the U.S. NLSY79 to examine two social determinants of health– work schedules and income – with a life course lens to examine their relationship with physical and mental health at age 50. Paper #2 examines the experiences and working conditions through Experience Sampling Method among early care and education (ECE) providers who offer multiple forms of NTH care (i.e. early mornings, evenings, overnight, and weekends) and across multiple types of ECE settings (i.e. center-based programs, licensed family child care homes, license-exempt home-based child care). Paper #3 examines the dynamics of precarious work schedules and social support among hourly workers in the service sector. The authors find that (1) precarious schedules reduce social support, (2) that reductions in social support mediate the association between precarious scheduling and health outcomes, but that (3) continued access to social support also moderates the scheduling-health association. In addition, there will be a chair and two discussants, one academic and one policy expert, to discuss these papers and their implications for employment policy.

Policy Area

• Poverty and Income Policy

Chair

• Jennie Romich, University of Washington

Discussant

• Julie Gathers Vogtman, National Women's Law Center

Organizer

• Marisa Schlieber, Erikson Institute

Individual Presentations

• Health as a Rich People's Game through the Lens of Work and Income - Presenting Author: Wen-Jui Han, New York University

• The Experiences and Working Conditions of Early Care and Education Providers Offering Non-Traditional Hour Care - Presenting Author: Marisa Schlieber, Erikson Institute

• The Double Bind of Precarious Work: Creating Need and Undermining Support - Presenting Author: Daniel Schneider, Harvard University

• The Effects of Reinstating ABAWD Work Requirements Following National Suspensions on SNAP Participation and Employment - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Kaitlyn Wilson; Presenting Author: Jordan W. Jones, USDA Economic Research Service