June 2000

 

Kids, Night Shift Threaten Marriage
Art Schneider, schneidera@missouri.edu

As Americans go into the 21st century, there is a growing trend toward non-standard work schedules, that is, schedules in which half or more of the hours worked are outside 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Today we can call an 800 number virtually 24 hours a day. We have overnight delivery. More and more Americans eat out—and at irregular hours—and tourism is a growing industry. We have many services—particularly medical—that involve evenings, nights or weekends.

Nationally, one in four two-earner families has at least one member who is a shift worker. For couples with children, it is one in three! And about one in three Americans work weekends. Nationally, about 15 percent of families have a family member who moonlights.

Clearly, we are a work-oriented society. Status comes with work.

Surprisingly little research has examined the impact of non-standard work schedules on marital quality and marital stability. Research almost two decades ago suggested shift work increased the likelihood of divorce from 7% to 11% over a three-year period.

Harriet Presser of the University of Maryland has been one of the few researchers examining non-standard work schedules. In a recent article she reports on research that followed families from 1987-88 to 1992-94. She then looked at those who worked day, evening, night, rotating shifts and weekends in 1987-88.

While her findings are exploratory and much more research needs to be developed (for example, we do not have information on the children’s ages and there was no information on how children are affected) her initial findings are provocative.

None of the non-standard work schedules appeared to contribute to marital instability for couples without children. Working evenings and weekends also did not increase the odds of marital instability. This surprised me.

For those couples with children and working nights (at least half the work hours between midnight and 8 a.m.) it was a different story. For men married less than five years and having children, working the night shift made divorce or separation six times as likely than if they worked the day shift.

For women married more than five years and having children, working the night shift increased the likelihood of separation or divorce three times and rotating shifts doubled the odds.

Presser examined the possibilities that the marriages were troubled initially or the amount of time together might be factors that pushed spouses toward working night or rotating shifts. Neither was a factor.

Night shifts are oftentimes beyond the control of families. The midnight shift may be a way to gain employment and—over time— move towards a standard work schedule. Commonly, companies pay slightly more for working the midnight shift and for families living from paycheck to paycheck, the additional income may be more attractive—at least initially.

Raising children is stressful. For couples with night shift work, it places marriages in jeopardy. Difficulty in securing a sound sleep during daytime hours is a factor. Early research has noted the detrimental health effects of night shifts.

Meantime, couples working a night shift without children may want to consider delaying children until a more standardized schedule is available. Families may also wish to evaluate how important night shift or rotating shift is to the unit’s stability.

Source: Presser, Harriet, B. (2000) "Nonstandard Work Schedules and Marital Instability," Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62: 93-110.

 

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