Patterns of working time, Labour force survey, 2003

The majority of employees working inconvenient hours work shifts. This applies to 22 per cent of all employees. For people with such working time arrangements, the typical pattern is that women work part-time and men work full-time.

One person may have a combination of several working time arrangements at the same time, for example both evening and Saturday work. In this article we look at employees with any of these working arrangements. Hence, the number of different working time arrangements for each employee is counted, not the number of employees. As a result the sum of all employees with different working time arrangements is higher than the total number of employees.

Men work full-time, women work part-time

Industries with inconvenient working hours may be divided into different categories. In manufacturing and in the transport industry men tend to work inconvenient hours, and they work full-time. In health and social services and in retail trade on the other hand, women tend to work inconvenient hours, and they work part-time. In the hotel and restaurant industry, there is an even split between full-time and part-time work.

In general, it is more common among part-time workers to work inconvenient hours. 32 per cent of part-time employees work shifts, compared to 19 per cent for full-time workers. Saturday work, evening work and regular shift work in particular are more common among part-time than full-time employees. 31 per cent of all part-time employees worked on Saturdays, and 25 per cent frequently worked evening hours. The figures are about the same as in the second quarter of 2002.

Women aged 16-24 working part-time have the highest frequency of Saturday work at 55 per cent. Women working part-time also have most shift work, particularly in the age group 25-29. In this age group 42 per cent work shifts. Men aged 25-29 working part-time have the highest share of Sunday work and night shifts at 31 and 20 per cent respectively. In contrast to the figures from 2002, men aged 16-29 working part-time now also have the highest share of evening work at 42 per cent. The corresponding figure for women is 38 per cent.

Evening work most common among temporary employees

Inconvenient working hours is more common among temporary employees than permanent staff. The difference is greatest when it comes to regular evening work (7 per cent), followed by Saturday and Sunday work (5 per cent).

The share of temporary employees who work outside regular working hours or work shifts, has grown from the second quarter of 2002 for all working time arrangements except Saturday work. Shift workers had the highest increase at 3 per cent.

Most young people work inconvenient hours

Not surprisingly, a large share of young employees work inconvenient hours. Saturday work (at least two Saturdays per four weeks) is most common and 42 per cent of the employees in this age group work Saturdays. This is clearly above the average 20 per cent for all employees. Evening work is very common among the youngest, as 30 per cent of all employees in this age group regularly work in the evenings.

Shift work is more common among women than men, as 26 per cent women work shifts against 19 per cent for men. There has been a 2 per cent increase for men since the second quarter of 2002, while the figure has remained stable for women. A larger share of women than men work on Saturdays.

Hotels and restaurants

Shift work is most common in the hotel and restaurant industry, transport industry, health and social services, and retail trade. In the hotel and restaurant industry 64 per cent of employees work Saturdays on a regular basis, 46 per cent work on Sundays and in the evenings, and 23 per cent work night shifts.

Tables:

• Table 1 Employees who regulary work outside ordinary hours or shift work by sex and age. Second quarter 2003. Per cent
• Table 2 Employees who regulary work outside ordinary hours or shift work by sex and industry. Second quarter 2003. Per cent
• Table 3 Employees who regulary work outside ordinary hours or shift work by occupation. Second quarter 2003. Per cent
• Table 4 Employees who regulary work outside ordinary hours or shift work by sex and conditions of appointment. Second quarter 2003. Per cent
• Table 5 Employees who regulary work outside ordinary hours or shift work by age and working hours. Second quarter 2003. Per cent
• Table 6 Male employees who regulary work outside ordinary hours or shift work by age and working hours. Second quarter 2003. Per cent
• Table 7 Employees who regulary work outside ordinary hours or shift work by age and working hours. Second quarter 2003. Per cent