`Graveyard` shift affects quality of marriage: Study

Washington: Late night working shifts obviously disrupt life in many ways – a new study now examines their effect on marital union. University of Cincinnati researcher David Maume said that his study updates and extends the rather limited and dated research on the link between schedule diversity and marital quality.

While men find that working odd shifts affecting the quality of their marriages, women find that it strains their marriages. “When women work rotating schedules, they find it more difficult to get everything done at home and engage with family members, and it is this disruptive effect on family life which strains women’s marriages rather than the times they work,” explained Maume. The effect is more on women, as work schedules disrupt their ability to care for and nurture other family members. “As the inter-relationship between work and family life becomes more complex in the face of changing expectations for gender roles, it is increasingly important that researchers understand how emergent 24/7 work schedules affect the well-being of workers and their families,” concluded Maume. ANI