Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Gerontologist. 2022 Nov 30;62(10):1443-1453. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnac067.
A substantial portion of the service sector workforce is middle-aged or older, but little is known about the scheduling conditions of these older workers. This study describes the quality of work schedules in the service sector by age and tests associations of unpredictable schedules with well-being and job retention among workers ages 50-80.
The Shift Project collected survey data on detailed working conditions and health from 121,408 service sector workers, recruited in 2017-2020 using social media advertisements. Survey weights aligned sample demographics with the American Community Survey, and multiple imputation addressed missingness. Ordinary least squares regression models were used to examine associations between age and schedule stability, and ordinary least squares, ordinal logit, and logit regression models tested associations between schedule stability and well-being and job retention outcomes for older workers.
Scheduling conditions were more stable and predictable for older compared to younger workers; however, more than 80% of workers ages 50-80 experienced one or more types of routine schedule instability. Among workers ages 50-80, unpredictable schedules were associated with psychological distress, poor-quality sleep, work-family conflict, economic insecurity, job dissatisfaction, and intentions to look for a new job. Canceled and back-to-back closing and opening ("clopening") shifts were most strongly associated with negative outcomes.
Policies aimed at improving scheduling conditions hold promise to benefit older service workers' well-being. As the population ages, improving work schedules in the years approaching retirement may be important to longer working lives.
服务业的很大一部分劳动力是中年或老年，但对于这些老年工人的工作安排条件知之甚少。本研究通过年龄描述了服务业工作安排的质量，并检验了不可预测的工作安排与 50-80 岁工人的幸福感和工作保留之间的关联。
Shift Project 通过社交媒体广告于 2017-2020 年招募了 121,408 名服务业工人，收集了详细的工作条件和健康数据。调查权重使样本人口统计数据与美国社区调查保持一致，多重插补解决了缺失值问题。使用普通最小二乘回归模型检验年龄与工作安排稳定性之间的关联，使用普通最小二乘、有序逻辑回归和逻辑回归模型检验工作安排稳定性与幸福感和老年工人工作保留结果之间的关联。
与年轻工人相比，老年工人的工作安排更稳定、可预测；然而，80%以上的 50-80 岁工人经历了一种或多种常规工作安排不稳定的情况。在 50-80 岁的工人中，不可预测的工作安排与心理困扰、睡眠质量差、工作与家庭冲突、经济不安全、工作不满和寻找新工作的意愿有关。取消和连续的关闭和开放（“clopening”）班次与负面结果的关联最强。
旨在改善工作安排条件的政策有望使老年服务工人的幸福感受益。随着人口老龄化，在退休前的几年改善工作安排可能对更长的工作寿命很重要。
