Research led by Wen-Jui Han from New York University, USA, published on April 3, 2024, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, explores the enduring health impacts of early career work patterns. The study investigates how the hours worked during young adulthood can shape health outcomes decades later. It adopts a life-course perspective to examine the link between employment patterns and health in middle age. It uses data from The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1979 (NLSY79), which covers over 30 years and includes more than 7,000 individuals in the US.
The study reveals that a significant proportion of participants (26%) consistently adhered to stable standard work hours throughout their careers, while another third (35%) predominantly maintained traditional daytime schedules. In contrast, 17% started with standard hours in their 20s but later shifted to volatile work patterns involving evening, night, and variable hours. Additionally, 12% began with standard hours but transitioned to variable schedules later, and a final 10% experienced primary unemployment during this period.
Compared to those who predominantly worked traditional daytime hours throughout their careers, individuals with more volatile work schedules reported poorer sleep quality, shorter sleep duration, and a higher incidence of depressive symptoms by age 50. Particularly notable were the findings concerning individuals who maintained stable work hours in their 20s but transitioned to volatile schedules in their 30s, significantly impacting health outcomes similar to those observed in individuals with lower educational attainment.
Han’s research also highlights significant racial and gender disparities in work schedules and subsequent health outcomes. For instance, Black Americans were more likely to have volatile work schedules associated with poorer health outcomes, underscoring how certain demographic groups may disproportionately bear the negative consequences of such employment patterns.
The study suggests that volatile work schedules contribute to poor sleep quality, physical fatigue, and emotional exhaustion, rendering individuals more susceptible to an unhealthy lifestyle. Moreover, it indicates that the health effects of work schedules can accumulate over a lifetime, exacerbating societal health inequities.
Han emphasises that work, traditionally viewed as a means to secure resources for a decent life, has now become a health vulnerability due to increasing precariousness in work arrangements in an increasingly unequal society. Vulnerable social groups, such as women, Black individuals, and those with lower educational attainment, disproportionately experience the adverse health consequences associated with volatile work schedules.
More information: Wen-Jui Han et al, How our longitudinal employment patterns might shape our health as we approach middle adulthood—US NLSY79 cohort, PLoS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300245
Journal information: PLoS ONE Provided by PLOS
