Nonstandard Work Hours and Single Versus Coupled Mothers' Work‐to‐Family Conflict

Abstract

Objective To compare single and coupled mothers' experiences of time‐based work‐to‐family conflict (WFC) and work‐to‐family positive affective spillover (PAS) in the context of maternal nonstandard work hours. Background Despite having become one of the central topics of work–family research, studies examining the relationship of maternal work schedules and family roles have mainly focused on North American samples or dual‐earner families. Although qualitative studies have highlighted the problems faced by European single mothers in relation to the combination of nonstandard work hours and family life, there are no quantitative or cross‐national comparative studies on the association. Method Using a convenience sample derived from the Families 24/7 survey of Finnish, Dutch, and British mothers with children 12 years of age or younger (N = 1,106), path analysis was carried out to assess the associations of single motherhood, nonstandard work hours, and their interaction with WFC and PAS and to compare the associations between 3 countries. Results The positive association between the amount of nonstandard work hours and WFC was found to be stronger among single mothers than coupled mothers in all 3 countries. However, in Finland, both single and coupled mothers, and in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, only single mothers, experienced higher WFC when the mother worked more during nonstandard hours. In all countries, single mothers experienced less PAS than coupled mothers. Conclusion Dutch and British single mothers who work nonstandard hours experience the combination of multiple roles particularly challenging compared with coupled mothers. In Finland, both single and coupled mothers report high levels of WFC when they work more nonstandard hours; hence, a greater amount of work during nonstandard hours is not an automatic indication of heightened challenges for single mothers alone. Implications When aiming to improve mothers' work–family reconciliation via social and workplace policies, it is important to understand the circumstances of single and coupled mothers in different cultural contexts.

Work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict and their relation to perceived parenting and parent-child relationship before and during the Covid-19 lockdown

“…Our dataset consisted solely of two-parent residential families. In our sample, therefore, parents could at least to some extent share the burden of home-schooling between them, which generally is related to lower W→F-conflict (Moilanen et al, 2019). Our findings might therefore not be generalizable to single parents, where W→F-conflict/F→W-conflict might have increased even more and the spill-over to perceived parenting might have been more difficult to prevent.…”

Rethinking the Domestic Division of Labour: Exploring Change and Continuity in the Context of Redundancy

“…Usdansky, 2011), household composition (e.g. Moilanen et al, 2019) and sexuality (Duncan et al, 2003). Examining the renegotiation process when household routines are disrupted, as in the case here of redundancy, across diverse household forms would provide a fruitful avenue for future research.…”

Displaying morally responsible motherhood: lone mothers accounting for work during non-standard hours

“…hours. Yet, the excusing accounts showed that these were not feasible options because of the financial pressure in which many of the mothers found themselves as sole earners (see Mukkila et al, 2017;Roman, 2018) and the relative lack of jobs offering standard hours. Instead, the mothers relied on their personal resources (e.g., sleep, time) and adaptability in responding appropriately to the needs of their children, on their social support networks (see Alsarve, 2017; Roman, 2018) and on negotiating flexible hours with their employers in striving to protect child wellbeing while having to work non-standard hours.…”

“…The moral dilemmas experienced by working lone mothers, we argue, have been intensified by the demands of the contemporary labour market. The working time demands characteristic of the 24/7 economy, especially non-standard working hours taking place during early mornings, evenings, nights, and weekends (Presser, 2003), have complicated the challenges that mothers face in reconciling work and family (e.g., Moilanen et al, 2019). Non-standard working hours are common, for example, in the female-dominated service and health sectors characterized by shift work (Parent-Thirion et al, 2007).…”