Work Schedule Unpredictability: Daily Occurrence and Effects on Working Parents' Well‐Being

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the pervasiveness and frequency of work schedule unpredictability among workers in low‐wage hourly jobs and the effects of work schedule unpredictability on worker and family well‐being.BackgroundFamily science has long considered the ways in which parents' experiences in the workplace can affect families. Although unpredictability in work schedules has increased over time, especially for low‐wage workers, the effects of schedule unpredictability on worker and family well‐being have been understudied.MethodNinety‐two workers with children aged 2–7, recruited using a new venue‐time sampling technique, were asked to complete once‐a‐day surveys for 30 consecutive days (N = 2,221 person‐days for analysis). Descriptive analyses and regression models with family fixed effects were utilized.ResultsWork schedule unpredictability was common in the context of families' lives: over the 30 days, parents experienced an unanticipated work schedule change on 13.3% of days, and 87% of parents experienced at least one unanticipated work schedule change. Within families, unpredictable work schedule changes on a given day were associated with worse outcomes that day for parents, including increased negative mood and decreased perceived sleep quality.ConclusionWork schedule unpredictability is ubiquitous in the lives of low‐wage hourly workers and is negatively related to working parents' well‐being.ImplicationsThese results provide evidence that unscheduled and canceled shifts typical of low‐wage service jobs may harm parents' well‐being, which could ultimately affect their children's development and well‐being.

COVID-19 and Parent-Child Psychological Well-being

“…Our sample is majority female, consistent with working in the service industry and with having custody of a young child. 19 Approximately half are African American and approximately one-fifth are Hispanic, consistent with being central-city hourly workers. 32 The mean age is 31, consistent with being the parent of a young child, 19 and the modal education is 12 years, consistent with hourly service employment.…”

“…Additional details about the text message survey protocol are available in Ananat and Gassman-Pines. 19 This method of data collection has several benefits. First, all text messages were date and time stamped, allowing the research team to know for certain that questions were answered on a given day.…”

“…The single item has been validated as a daily measure of negative mood because it is positively correlated with daily stressors, including daily food insecurity 26 and daily work schedule disruptions. 19 Daily perceived negative sleep quality was measured with a single item also used in other daily survey studies, 27 asking, "How well did you sleep last night?" Answers were on a 10-point scale from really badly to really well.…”

“…This measure has been validated because it is correlated in expected directions with negative and positive daily mood, daily self-esteem, 27 and daily work schedule disruptions, a daily stressor. 19 Daily child uncooperative behavior was measured with a single item asking, "How much was your child uncooperative today?" Answers were on a 4-point scale: not at all, just a little, some, and a lot.…”

Improving health and economic security by reducing work schedule uncertainty

“…The fair workweek movement has largely targeted the service sector, which employs nearly one in five US workers (12) and where work schedule unpredictability is endemic (6). In the contemporary service sector, workers commonly receive their weekly work schedules only a few days in advance, and their scheduled work hours and workdays often change substantially from week to week (13)(14)(15)(16)(17). Precarious scheduling practices have been facilitated by workforce management algorithms that gauge customer flow and sales and allow employers to align staffing levels to closely match consumer demand (18)(19)(20).…”