Summary

The emergence of the so-called “24/7 economy” has led to an increasing number of people working nonstandard schedules (e.g., evenings, nights, or weekends). These trends have dramatically altered family processes and interactions. Nonstandard work schedules (NSWS) can reduce the amount of time parents have available for their children and compromise parents’ mental health, thus limiting parenting capacities and weakening parent-child relationships. These negative impacts of NSWS on parents can ultimately affect children’s well-being. 

There is limited evidence to date on how nonstandard work schedules impact family well-being in different contexts. The proposed project, NONWELL, will examine the consequences of nonstandard work schedules for the psychological well-being of children and parents using large-scale longitudinal data from Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Our first aim in this project is to examine the consequences of NSWS for parents—in particular, for their mental health and well-being. Second, we will examine whether and how the consequences of NSWS for parents in turn affect their children’s well-being. To do so, we will analyze transmission pathways (mediating factors) and identify child, family, and job characteristics that mitigate or exacerbate the impact of NSWS on child well-being (moderating factors). Third, we will examine whether the impact of NSWS on parent and child well-being varies across countries with different family policies and working time regimes. NONWELL will be the first project of this international scope to elucidate the impact of NSWS on family well-being in diverse social and economic contexts.