EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 HOURS 18 SEPTEMBER 2006
New research published today finds that working unsocial hours is biting hard into family life.
Many working parents are at work during traditional ‘family time’, when their children are at home. In nearly nine out of ten working families where both parents work, at least one parent works unsocial hours.
The research ‘Working atypical hours: what happens to family life?‘ by Matt Barnes, Caroline Bryson and Ruth Smith of the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), in partnership with Relationships Foundation’s ‘Keep time for children’ initiative, finds that eight out of ten working fathers and over half of working mothers now work some unsocial hours – outside of 8am-7pm, Monday-Friday – which can stunt the amount of time parents spend with their children and the kinds of activities they do together.
Keep time for children Chief Executive Michael Clark said today ‘While working nine to five, Monday to Friday may be considered normal, in fact only a minority of families do all their work in this time. Amongst families with dependent children where at least one parent works, only 17 per cent do all of their work in these hours, and if both parents work the figure is less than 1 per cent.’
To determine the effect on family life, the NatCen researchers analysed data from daily diaries completed as part of the UK Time Use Survey, collected in 2000, which showed the activities family members did throughout the day and who they were with. The analysis found that some parents working at unsocial times spend significantly less time with their children:
- The average couple mother who works at unsocial times spends less time with her children over a whole week and is particularly likely to miss out on time with her children at weekends.
- Fathers in sole-earner families (i.e. whose partner doesn’t work) and who work at unsocial times spend less time with their children over a whole week.
- Relatively few parents spend significantly more time with their children to make up for the time lost by their partner working at unsocial times.
- This lost time encroaches on important shared time such as meal times, reading and playing especially when it is the mother who works atypical hours.
Michael Clark added that the findings confirm previous research about the pervasive impact of working unsocial hours on family life.
‘We know from previous NatCen research that three out of four families are involved in some weekend work, and one in five have at least one parent who works regularly at weekends. In many cases parents are under pressure to work weekends when they would rather be at home’, he said.
‘As a society we must take collective responsibility. The effect of demanding goods and services 24/7 results in added pressure on parents, especially those with low incomes, to work unsocial hours. We are depriving children of time with their parents. Parents of school age children should be guaranteed one weekend day off each week’ Michael Clark said.
Notes to Editors
Case studies available on request.
The report, ‘Working atypical hours: what happens to family life?‘ is available from Sue Johnson, Information Officer, National Centre for Social Research, 35 Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0AX
A report by Relationships Foundation summarising findings from the latest NatCen study and previous research is available to download here.
‘Keep time for children’ is an initiative of Relationships Foundation, a think-and-do-tank that studies and promotes the benefits of healthy personal and professional relationships across society.
