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

To 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.

Family 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.

Ninety-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.

Work 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.

Work schedule unpredictability is ubiquitous in the lives of low-wage hourly workers and is negatively related to working parents' well-being.

These 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.