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Long Workweeks and Strange Hours

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  • Daniel S. Hamermesh
  • Elena Stancanelli

Abstract

American workweeks are long compared to other rich countries'. Much less well-known is that Americans are more likely to work at night and on weekends. We examine the relationship between these two phenomena using the American Time Use Survey and time-diary data from 5 other countries. Adjusting for demographic differences, Americans' incidence of night and weekend work would drop by about 10 percent if European workweeks prevailed. Even if no Americans worked long hours, the incidence of unusual work times in the U.S. would far exceed those in continental Europe.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel S. Hamermesh & Elena Stancanelli, 2014. "Long Workweeks and Strange Hours," NBER Working Papers 20449, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20449
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Long Workweeks and Strange Hours
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2014-12-10 19:22:52
    2. Long Workweeks and Strange Hours
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2014-12-19 16:57:32

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    Cited by:

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    2. Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal, J. & Molina, Jose Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2018. "The commuting behavior of workers in the United States: Differences between the employed and the self-employed," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 19-29.
    3. Giménez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2020. "Should we cheer together? Gender differences in instantaneous well-being during joint and solo activities: An application to COVID-19 lockdowns," GLO Discussion Paper Series 736, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Andrew E. Clark & Orla Doyle & Elena Stancanelli, 2017. "The Impact of Terrorism on Well-being: Evidence from the Boston Marathon Bombing," Working Papers 201717, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    5. Sam Cosaert & Alexandros Theloudis & Bertrand Verheyden, 2023. "Togetherness in the Household," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 529-579, February.
    6. Alexandre Mas & Amanda Pallais, 2020. "Alternative Work Arrangements," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 12(1), pages 631-658, August.
    7. Andrew E. Clark & Elena Stancanelli, 2016. "Individual Well-Being and the Allocation of Time Before and After the Boston Marathon Terrorist Bombing," PSE Working Papers hal-01302843, HAL.
    8. José Ignacio Giménez-Nadal & José Alberto Molina & Jorge Velilla, 2023. "Should We Cheer Together? Gender Differences in Instantaneous Well-being: An Application to COVID-19 Lockdowns," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 529-562, February.
    9. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2020. "Should We Cheer Together? Gender Differences in Instantaneous Well-Being during Joint and Solo Activities," IZA Discussion Papers 13306, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Sam Desiere & Christian Walker, 2023. "The Shift Premium: Evidence From A Discrete Choice Experiment," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 23/1074, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    11. Yuliang Yao & Martin Dresner & Kevin Xiaoguo Zhu, 2019. "“Monday Effect” on Performance Variations in Supply Chain Fulfillment: How Information Technology–Enabled Procurement May Help," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 30(4), pages 1402-1423, December.
    12. Dirk-Hinnerk Fischer & Hovhannes Yeritsyan, 2018. "A Common Misunderstanding about Capitalism and Communism Through the Eyes of Innovation," Economic Thought, World Economics Association, vol. 7(2), pages 1-14, November.
    13. Juan Carlos Campaña & Jose Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal & Jorge Velilla, 2023. "Measuring Gender Gaps in Time Allocation in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 165(2), pages 519-553, January.
    14. MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2018. "Uncertainty over Working Schedules and Compensating Wage Differentials: From the viewpoint of labor management," Discussion papers 18015, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    15. Deguilhem, Thibaud & Berrou, Jean-Philippe & Combarnous, François, 2017. "Using your ties to get a worse job? The differential effects of social networks on quality of employment: Evidence from Colombia," MPRA Paper 78628, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Olena Kostyshyna & Etienne Lalé, 2022. "On the evolution of multiple jobholding in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(2), pages 1095-1134, May.
    17. Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Pfann, Gerard A., 2022. "The variability and volatility of sleep: An ARCHetypal behavior," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    18. Thibaud Deguilhem & Jean-Philippe Berrou & François Combarnous, 2019. "Using your ties to get a worse job? The differential effects of social networks on quality of employment in Colombia," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(4), pages 493-522, October.
    19. Ines Lee & Eileen Tipoe, 2021. "Changes in the quantity and quality of time use during the COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK: Who is the most affected?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-17, November.
    20. Hafenbrack, Andrew C. & Cameron, Lindsey D. & Spreitzer, Gretchen M. & Zhang, Chen & Noval, Laura J. & Shaffakat, Samah, 2020. "Helping People by Being in the Present: Mindfulness Increases Prosocial Behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 21-38.
    21. Shapira, Chen & Vilnai-Yavetz, Iris & Rafaeli, Anat & Zemel, Moran, 2016. "Time clock requirements for hospital physicians," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(6), pages 690-697.
    22. Jorge González Chapela, 2018. "Physical Work Intensity and the Split Workday: Theory and Evidence from Spain," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 329-353, September.
    23. Serena Yu & David Peetz, 2019. "Non‐Standard Time Wage Premiums and Employment Effects: Evidence from an Australian Natural Experiment," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(1), pages 33-61, March.
    24. Tanguy Le Fur & Alain Trannoy, 2024. "The Health-Maximizing Level of Labor Supply: A Macroeconomic Perspective on the American Health Puzzle," AMSE Working Papers 2419, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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