Shift Work and Work-Family Conflict: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Shift work occupies precious time for family and social life. The aim of this review was to systematically assess the state of research on the impact of shift work on work-fam-ily conflict. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed and EBSCO to identify studies published between 1990 and 2017. In the end, 36 articles met the inclusion criteria and were considered in this review. Shift workers show higher levels of work-family conflict in comparison to workers in regular day schedules. Different shift types and a large variation of shift characteristics have been studied. Results point to a higher work-family conflict especially among night shift workers and those working in a shift schedule, including weekend work. Research testing for causality is missing.