A Life's Work: Recent Episodes
Afshin Zilanawala
We live in a 24/7 economy and whether you are a nurse on the night shift, a stockbroker getting up early to be abreast of the markets in Asia, a fast food server feeding pub leavers at closing time or a supermarket worker stacking shelves before the shopping hoards arrive, you know what that's like and how it impacts on your family life.
For millions of people in the UK and around the world, work is no 9 to 5 matter. In fact, with more than 50 per cent of us working what we we have tended to think of as a 'non standard' schedule, seems to be becoming the 'standard schedule'.
In the UK, nearly a quarter of working mums and a third of working dads do some sort of shift work. But how does this affect their ability to lead healthy happy lives not just as individuals, but as a family?
A Life's Work is a podcast seeking to answer that question by exploring the latest evidence around shift work and how it affects family life.
In our first series funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, researcher Afshin Zilanawala, a researcher at the International Centre for Lifecourse Studies at UCL explores what we know about shift work and how it impacts on mums, dads and their children, especially their health and happiness.
In Episode 5 of A Life's Work, Adrienne Burgess, Joint Chief Executive & Head of Research at the Fatherhood Institute talks to Afshin about the need for employers, policy makers and researchers to pay closer attention to the role of fathers in ensuring that parents can successfully juggle work and family life.
Useful links
- Cash or Carry - Fathers combining work and care in the UK
In Episode 4 of Series 1, Mubeen Bhutta, Head of Policy and Influencing at Working Families talks to Afshin about the challenges of integrating work and family life, flexible work policies, and how employers can best support parents working outside of the Mon-Fri 9-5 working hours.
Working Families reports * Flexistability: building back better for the UK's working families * COVID-19 and flexible working: the perspective from working parents and carers * Weathering the storm: the COVID-19 pandemic and working parents
In Episode 3 of Series 1, Matt Creagh, Employment Rights Policy Officer at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) talks to Afshin about policies to support the integration of work and family life, changing working patterns and how employers can help parents who work non standard shifts.
Key points from the discussion
0.00-6.40
- Matt outlines TUC's priorities for working people: access to and ability to enforce employment rights for all and access to policies that help them achieve work-life balance for their wellbeing
- How will today's workers be affected by Brexit? Matt outlines TUC concerns about possible loss of worker rights linked to being a member of the EU
- Matt mentions the EU Worklife Balance Directive currently in the pipeline and says UK working parents in particular will miss out on some of the protections and benefits that it will afford other EU workers when Brexit happens
6.40-12.40
- The discussion moves to some of Afshin's recent research looking at whether there are any educational patterns among parents who work non standard shifts.
- The research shows 2 distinct groups (both higher and lower educated mothers) who are more likely to work non standard shifts
- Matt speculates that this could be linked to the fact that mothers tend to take on the bulk of the caring responsibilities within families
Matt says the TUC is particularly concerned with the low take up of shared parental leave and policies to encourage fathers to take on more of the caring responsibilities
- He mentions in Scandinavian countries each parent has a separate entitlement to paid parental leave so more fathers are better placed to take time off
- Afshin mentions other related research on fathers and shift work and the links with mental health - she finds parents who work non standard shifts tend to have lower levels of wellbeing
- Matt says TUC finds the same in its recent research talking with low paid workers. Parents said notice of shifts and guaranteed hours would help them
12.40-19.50
- Discussion on flexible working - Afshin mentions our earlier podcast episode with Val Wilcox from the National Childbirth Trust where flexible working could be a positive thing for employers and employees especially mums trying to manage a return to work and continue breastfeeding
- Matt says flexible working has different meanings and isn't always a positive thing if it's used by employers to hire and fire at will with no obligations and no security for workers - he says some employers are doing positive things on this front but not all - unions have played a key role in negotiating better policies in this area but says employers are not always good at talking with their workers about their home needs and how policies could help
- Matt recommends all people join a union but accepts not everyone is in a position to do so. Nevertheless, he urges all workers to find as much information as they can about their rights.
19.50-end
- Final part of discussion covers TUC's latest research - Matt mentions TUC's participation in the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices and says the Government's response has not gone far enough and why the TUC does not think it goes far enough in tackling the problems of insecure work outlined in the review
Other resources
- TUC blog
- TUC Rights at work
In Episode 2 of Series One, Val Willcox, Practice Manager at the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) joins Afshin for a discussion about going back to work after having a baby and breastfeeding. We also hear from 1 year-old Alfie’s mum, Hollie, who has recently gone back to her job in retail working weekends. And we discuss Afshin’s research looking at the links between shift work and breastfeeding.
Key points from the discussion
0.00-5.00 * Hollie talks about her experiences of going back to work for her, her partner and her child * Val tals about the many challenges facing women looking at returning to work after having a baby * Hollie talks about her experiences of breastfeeding and going back to work * Val talks about the logistical challenges of working and continuing to work
5.00-15.30 * Afshin explains the key finding from her research on shift work and breastfeeding - that mothers who were working when their child was 9 months old were more likely to continue to breastfeed if they worked evening shifts than mums who weren’t working * Val wonders whether the finding could be linked to the length of the shift (i.e. evening shifts might be shorter and more manageable) and they both agree the better all this is understood, the better policies and practices can be developed to support mums who want or need to return to work. * Val mentions the legislation in place to protect mums who want to continue breastfeeding whilst working but says conversations with employers are not always as easy as they should be and that more needs to be done to make those conversations easier - i.e. have clear policies in place * Val advises mums to have conversations early with employers - recommends Maternity Action for advice if they need it - suggests we should celebrate good employers who support women however they feed their babies.
15.30-end * Discussion moves to flexible working policies around parental leave and whether they are working well
Further information and resources
- Perspective, the NCT’s journal on preparing parents for birth and early parenthood
- Pregnancy and maternity - related discrimination and disadvantage - First findings: survey of employers and mothers from the Equality and Human Rights Commission
- Continuing to breastfeed when you return to work Guidance from Maternity Action
- Maternal nonstandard work schedules and breastfeeding behaviors, Afshin Zilanawala, Maternal and Child Health Journal
In Episode One of Series One, UCL researcher and consultant in wellbeing at work Gill Weston discusses her research looking at the links between working long hours and weekend work and signs of depression in both men and women.
Key findings from the research
- Women who worked 55 hours a week or longer showed more signs of depression than those who worked a standard 35-40 hour week
- Women who worked weekends showed more signs of depression than those who didn't
- Men who worked weekends in poor quality jobs with little control or job satisfaction also showed high numbers of depressive symptoms compared with their peers who worked weekends but were in good quality jobs
Further information and resources
- The data set Gill uses in her research is the UK Household Longitudinal Study, also known as Understanding Society
- Measuring depression - this was done using the General Health Questionnaire used in Understanding Society which asks participants a range of questions on things such as their ability to concentrate on what they're doing, lost sleep through worry etc.
- 'Superheroes' don't work 90-hour weeks - BBC
- Read about what motivated Gill to do a PhD at UCL on the links between working long hours and weekends and depression
- Find out more about Gill's work as a work and wellbeing consultant