Non-standard work schedules: increasing
exposure among low-skilled women

Authors: Anne Lambert and Laetitia Langlois

In France, non-standard work schedules (evenings, nights, early mornings, and weekends) have become more widespread in recent decades, with laws that have made it easier to negotiate working-time agreements at the company level and that have relaxed restrictions on Sunday working. Which occupational categories have been the most affected by this development? Are women affected in the same way as men?

Exposure to non-standard work schedules is far from marginal in France, and while the number of salaried workers concerned has not increased much over the last decade, the nature of exposure has shifted according to sex and social categories. Low-skilled women have been most affected by the development of non-standard work schedules, weekend working especially, while people in higher-level occupations have experienced a reduction in non-standard sche­dules, but also in unpredictable and variable work schedules.

Published on: 27 April 2022