Working in a 24/7 economy : challenges for American families / Harriet B. Presser.

About the author -- Preface -- Chap. 1. Introduction -- Chap. 2. Who works nonstandard schedules and why -- Chap. 3. The temporal structure of American families -- Chap. 4. The quality and stability of marriages -- Chap. 5. The gender division of household labor -- Chap. 6. Parent-child interaction -- Chap. 7. The complexity of child care -- Chap. 8. Implications for low-educated mothers -- Chap. 9. Summing up and moving forward -- Notes -- References -- Index.

This book looks at the effects of nonstandard work schedules on family functioning and shows how these schedules disrupt marriages and force families tocobble together complex child-care arrangements that should concern us all. Thenumber of hours Americans work has received ample attention, but the issue of which hours-or days-Americans work has received much less scrutiny. This work provides a comprehensive overview of who works nonstandard schedules and why. The author argues that the growth in women's employment, technological change, and other demographic changes over the past thirty years gave rise to the growing demand for late-shift and weekend employment in the service sector. It is also demonstrated that most people who work these hours do so primarily because it is a job requirement, rather than a choice based on personal considerations. The consequences of working non-standard schedules often differ for men and women since housework and child-rearing remain assigned primarily to women even when b