Effect of Mothers’ Nonstandard Work Hours on Children’s Wellbeing in Japan

Abstract

Despite concerns over inequality of children’s well-being, an increasing proportion of mothers work nonstandard hours. However, the effects of such work on the well-being of children is poorly understood in Japan. In the present study, analysis of time use data confirmed a rising proportion of mothers working nonstandard hours in the period of 2001–2006. Single mothers were found to be more likely to work nonstandard hours than their married counterparts. While educational aspirations for their children affect a single mother’s decision to work nonstandard hours, economic hardship was identified as a major determinant for married mothers. In Japan, a mother’s time spent with her children and her frequency of having dinner together with her children decrease if she works in the evening, and the magnitude of the decrease was found to be larger for single mothers. These findings suggest that prevalence of nonstandard work hours among mothers may have detrimental effects on their time spent with their children.