Harriet Presser

"As consumers, we have gotten accustomed to the concept of a 24/7 week in which stores are open all the time, people are available to answer our travel questions or take our mail orders over the phone at any hour, and health care services are available whenever we need them," said Presser, author of Working in a 24/7 Economy: Challenges for American Families. "But what is happening to the people providing those services in the late evening, overnight, and on weekends?"

Presser, Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Maryland, closed this year’s Lectures on Population at Harvard series, sponsored by the HSPH Office of the Dean, Harvard University Office of the Provost, and the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.

One in five American employees works most of their hours in the evening, late night, or on rotating shifts, based on 1997 data. One in three works weekends.

Except for careers such as RNs and airline pilots, many jobs that require people to work odd hours offer less pay and fewer promotions than daytime shifts, she said. Yet, the ranks of these employees are growing, despite the social and public health problems the 24/7 culture brings.

For one, the time of day people work–and not just how many hours–matters, said Presser. Some of the world’s most devastating avoidable disasters were caused by human error made on the night shift, including Chernobyl and the wreck of the Exxon Valdez.

Many marriages will fail or at least be stressed by general marital unhappiness and low-quality time when a spouse works at night. In today’s two-earner couples, one in four includes a spouse that works evenings, nights, or rotating shifts.

Presser found the greatest impact from nonstandard work schedules was on couples with children. Such couples run three to six times the risk of separation or divorce in five years if working night shifts, depending on which gender works nights and how long the couple has been together.

Her data further indicates that children in two-parent families that keep unusual hours rarely see both parents together. Millions of American children do not have–and may never have–parents with enough quality time to share an interest in their schoolwork or social lives, Presser said.

Her research leads her to conclude that many children are left alone at night. "I can’t imagine what happens if you are employed at those odd hours [and have young children]," she said, particularly if the parent is single. She presumes society only hears about those situations that end in disaster.

Presser said her findings call for more research on the health and well-being of Americans working nonstandard hours and on the society in which they live.

"We need more public discourse on this issue," she said, because important policy decisions must be made regarding child care, equitable wages, worker health and safety, public education, and services.

--PHC