Despite the widespread prevalence of nonstandard work schedules (NSWS) – that is working evening, nights, or weekends – their implications for mental health remain unevenly understood, particularly with respect to the resources that may buffer their adverse consequences. Using longitudinal data from Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) and gender-stratified individual fixed-effects models, we examine three questions: whether transitions into different forms of NSWS are associated with within-person changes in mental health, measured by the SF-12 Mental Component Summary (MCS); whether aggregate social and workplace resources moderate this association; and, where moderation is observed, which specific sources of support account for it.
Results show that, among women, transitions into schedules involving weekend work are associated with the largest declines in mental health. Social support, however, moderates this association: women who have multiple sources of support show no significant decline in mental health when moving into NSWS. This pattern is driven most clearly by partner support, with weaker evidence for support from friends. Support from other family members and workplace resources do not significantly moderate the association.
Among men, associations between NSWS and mental health are weaker and less consistently estimated. The clearest negative coefficients concern transitions involving evening and night schedules. Although both social and workplace resources are independently associated with better mental health, neither significantly moderates the association between NSWS and mental health.
Overall, these findings point to gendered differences in both the mental-health consequences of nonstandard schedules and the role of social resources in buffering these consequences. The breadth of social support also appears to matter, at least for women, including support from non-kin ties.
Presented by:
Sara Tafuro (INED, The French Institute for Demographic Studies)
Date & time:
November 18, 2026 12:30 pm - November 18, 2026 1:30 pm
Venue:
SSRC416 (2N2.4.16)
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