"Large numbers of Americans work nonstandard schedules. Cross-sectional data reveal that one-fifth of all employed Americans work mostly in the evening, at night, or on a rotating shift. Moreover, one-third of all dual-earner couples with children include at least one spouse working one of these shifts. Such widespread employment at nonstandard times is a significant social phenomenon, with important implications for the health and well-being of individuals and their families and for the implementation of social policies. Yet we know so little about this phenomenon. Much attention has been paid to the number of hours Americans work, but the issue of which hours Americans work has generally gone unnoticed by researchers and policymakers alike. At present, we cannot answer the simple, but important, question of the extent to which Americans work nonstandard schedules over the course of their working lives.

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