Nonstandard employment and nonwork activities,time alone and with others: Can weekend workers make up lost time?

Abstract

To what extent can weekend workers reschedule nonwork activities or time with significant others to weekdays? From the Australian Bureau of Statistics Time Use Survey 2006, a sample of employed persons aged 15–64 (n = 3860) is drawn to examine associations between weekend work and time spent in nonwork activities, time spent alone, and time spent in the company of family (partners, children, nonresident family, and elders) and friends, on days worked and over the following week. All analyses examine differences by gender. Workers’ lost weekend time is not recovered over the week; rather, in some instances there are persistent negative effects. Sunday workers are most affected. The findings add to knowledge about work–family conflict and gender differences in managing boundaries between employment and private life. There are implications for workplace policy, as the results offer support for penalty rate payments for weekend work.