Rahul Hajare
Busting the conventional notion, a recent study has found why 9 to 5 is not the only shift that can work for busy families. The study from the University of Pune focused on two-parent families in which one parent works a nonstandard shift, hours that are common in health care, law enforcement and the service sector. The study found that the impacts of parent work schedules on children vary by age and gender, and often reflect which shift a parent works. Rotating shifts a schedule that varies day by day or week by week can be most problematic for children. Workers often struggle to carve out the work/life balance they want for themselves, and in dual-earner families, balancing partners' schedules remains an issue for many families. Parents are facing these decisions of balancing work and caring for their children. Nonstandard schedules, especially for single parent and lower income families, are associated with behaviour problems among children, according to past research. To add to that research, researcher examined data on two parent households in which one parent worked a nonstandard shift. On this, she was inspired in part by her own family: A sibling, who is a nurse, another fire fighter, both with children.