Career Journal: Atypical Workdays
Becoming Routine --- Evenings, Some Weekends Are a Growing Part of Workers'
Schedules
4 April 2006
The Wall Street Journal
A19
KRISTIN EATON DOESN'T sit in rush hour. She flies
over it.
When most twentysomethings are at happy hour or
their dinner tables, the 22-year-old is piloting a Beech Baron 58 over central
Pennsylvania, delivering lab specimens for Quest Diagnostics Inc. It isn't her
dream job as a corporate pilot, but her schedule -- a rotating mix of days,
nights and holidays -- isn't likely to change no matter what field of flight
she takes up.
In a world dominated by 9-to-5,
Monday-through-Friday workers, most new employees may have to work a few late
nights at the office. For some, though, working while the rest of the
world sleeps is the norm.
As demand for off-hours work grows, a
new generation is encountering the benefits and drawbacks of unconventional
schedules. With cellphones and BlackBerrys ubiquitous, the idea of work ending
at 5 p.m. is endangered. For some jobs it has disappeared entirely, altering
family and social lives and complicating schedules for parents and married
couples.
As of 2002, about two-fifths of employed
Americans worked during the evening, weekend, overnight, or on a rotating
shift, according to the Current Population Survey, a joint project of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census. Only about 30% of
American workers have a "standard" workday schedule -- 40 hours a week, during
the day, Monday through Friday, according to the CPS. When those who work any
time during those hours are included, weekday warriors are only a slight
majority.
There has always been demand for "off-hours" work
-- the Romans scheduled delivery carts' arrivals at night to avoid congested
streets. But the call for off-hours workers is increasing, according to
Harriet Presser, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland and
author of "Working in a 24/7 Economy."
"Nonstandard and weekend work is here to stay," she
says. "All the trends fueling it -- an aging population with more
discretionary income, advancing technology -- show signs of expanding, not
shrinking."
Several factors are accelerating the
phenomenon, sociologists and other experts say. A changing economy has
fostered growth in the service sector, its employees often working odd hours
as people seek more recreation. And an aging population fuels the need for
round-the-clock medical professionals.
Grace Ning, a 23-year-old oncology nurse, has
worked 12-hour overnight shifts at Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan
for a year and a half. "I love only having to work three nights a week," she
says. "It's nice to run errands in the middle of the week, when I'm off and
most of the city is working. But I hate working weekends." Ms. Ning said it's
depressing when her friends call her to go out on Saturday night but she has
at work.
There are more serious health risks
associated with working at night than a case of the blues. Chronic sleep
deprivation is a common complaint from those who force themselves to be awake
when biology dictates they sleep. Besides causing fatigue and a weakened
immune system, chronic sleep loss can affect memory and cognitive abilities,
literally slowing people down. It can also cause depression.
Like many who work odd hours, Ms. Ning says the
love of her job keeps her going.
"A few of my friends work with me," she says. "When
I worked New Year's Eve and (New Year's) Day, we had a celebration of our own.
It was nice to be with my patients during that time . . . being with people
who really appreciate those small celebrations in life because they know their
time is limited. It made the significance of the holiday much more apparent to
me."
Many people who work odd hours see it as a nuisance
of their youth and hope for a more conventional schedule later when they
settle down. Dr. Presser notes that studies from the National Survey of
Families and Households of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for
Demography and Ecology show that married couples with children have a greater
chance of experiencing unhappiness and divorce when one spouse works late
nights. And while child care may be easier when partners don't work at the
same time, parents must take care to spend time with their children.
Many employees also find themselves on call after
their conventional day ends. In the global marketplace, businesses operate 24
hours to serve overseas clients or to monitor foreign events. Lorena Flores, a
28-year-old reporter in Dallas for Spanish-language newspaper Al Dia, owned by
Belo Corp., has covered entertainment for three years. Attending concerts and
cultural events may be a reward in itself, but most people are unwinding from
work at these events while she is still working.
Ms. Flores says missing family dinners can get her
down, but her love of writing outweighs the negatives. And even if working on
a holiday isn't ideal, at least it can produce some surreal experiences.
"One night I got out from a concert after midnight
and stopped at a 7-Eleven," she recalls. "Standing in line, I suddenly
realized a witch and a skeleton were standing behind me. I was a little
freaked out at first, but then I remembered it was Halloween."
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