Working Paper: NBER ID: w20449
Authors: 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.
Keywords: work hours; American Time Use Survey; night work; weekend work
JEL Codes: J08; J22
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| hours worked (J22) | probability of working at night or on weekends (J29) |
| hours worked (55-64 hours) (J22) | probability of working at night or on weekends (J29) |
| higher educational attainment (I23) | lower probability of working on weekends (J29) |
| immigrant status (K37) | higher probability of working on weekends (J29) |
| shorter work hours (European standards) (J22) | lower incidence of weekend and night work (J22) |