Atypical work schedules and gender: new questions for ergonomics?

摘要

There is a general rise in the number of people working on atypical schedules, with a faster progression for women. Atypical work schedules are known to have dramatic health effects on both men and women. In ergonomics, atypical work schedules and gender can be approached in terms of how they are related to the balance between work life and home life. Striking this balance is difficult for women in the best cases, and can be very complex when work schedules extend beyond the 'normal' workday. The purpose of this paper is to review the issue of atypical schedules and gender, and to suggest and discuss some research avenues in relation to our recent findings. Ergonomics is aimed at transforming work situations, so one possible research approach is to analyze the strategies used by working women to manage their home and family life and study the arrangements they make to reconcile their atypical work schedules with their workload at home. New methodological tools are needed to address these current ergonomic research topics.