Chaotic Work Schedules May Increase the Risk of Breakups and Divorce
Unpredictable work schedules are quietly eroding romantic relationships across the United States, according to new research in the Journal of Marriage and Family. The study finds that hourly service workers facing unstable shifts are significantly more likely to separate or divorce.
The findings add a new dimension to long-standing evidence that economic strain destabilizes family life. Past research has largely focused on wages, unemployment, and income shocks, but this study highlights the day-to-day rhythm of work as another potentially powerful source of relationship stress.
How the study was conducted
Researchers analyzed longitudinal survey data from 6,918 hourly workers employed by large retail and food service chains. The data were collected between 2019 and 2024 through The Shift Project. All participants were married or cohabiting with a partner when they were first surveyed.
The researchers followed up roughly nine months later to determine whether those relationships were still intact. They then compared relationship dissolution rates with the level of scheduling instability each worker had experienced during the month before the initial survey.
Schedule instability was measured across five common practices: on-call shifts, canceled shifts, last-minute timing changes, short notice of schedules, and so-called clopening shifts. Each worker received a score from zero to five based on how many of these conditions they experienced.
What unstable schedules do to couples
Relationship outcomes differed sharply between workers with stable schedules and those facing highly unpredictable hours. Among married workers with fully predictable schedules, 94 percent remained married at follow-up, compared with 82 percent of those experiencing four or five forms of schedule instability.
For cohabiting couples, 87 percent of relationships remained intact when schedules were stable, falling to 75 percent when workers reported four or five types of unpredictability. The findings suggest that severe scheduling instability can reduce relationship stability by double digits.
Lead author Kristen Harknett of the University of California, Berkeley, said the results demonstrate how routine instability at work can spill over into home life. Short-notice changes make it harder to plan childcare, divide household responsibilities, or simply spend time together, potentially amplifying stress within the household.
Marriage versus cohabitation effects
The study suggests that cohabiting couples may be more vulnerable to moderate levels of schedule instability than married partners. Elevated breakup risks appeared among cohabiting workers even when they experienced only three forms of scheduling unpredictability.
By contrast, married couples showed the steepest increase in divorce risk only at the highest levels of instability. The authors note that the legal and social commitments associated with marriage may provide some protection until workplace stress reaches a particularly severe level.
The researchers also examined gender differences. Among cohabiting couples, men and women were similarly affected. Among married couples, however, men’s unstable schedules were more strongly associated with divorce than women’s, potentially reflecting lingering expectations surrounding men’s role as reliable breadwinners.
Are job conditions the real driver?
To examine whether personal characteristics might explain both workplace chaos and relationship instability, the researchers constructed a predicted schedule instability score. This estimate was based on factors such as employer, job tenure, age, and education rather than relying solely on workers’ individual reports.
Even this predicted measure was associated with higher odds of marital dissolution, strengthening the case that workplace practices themselves may contribute to relationship stress. The association remained after accounting for wages, demographic characteristics, and partner employment.
Experts say this pattern is consistent with broader findings from labor and health research. Previous studies have shown that on-call and just-in-time scheduling can worsen sleep, mental health, and parenting quality, making it more difficult for families to maintain stable routines.
Limitations and wider implications
The authors caution that their data came from only one partner in each relationship, meaning the work conditions of the other partner were not measured. They also lacked detailed information about how long couples had been together when the study began.
Participants were recruited through social media rather than from a nationally representative sample. As a result, some groups, including people without internet access or undocumented workers, may be underrepresented in the findings.
Despite these limitations, the study adds weight to growing calls for fair workweek laws and more predictable scheduling in service-sector jobs. Several U.S. cities and states have already introduced rules requiring minimum advance notice of work schedules and compensation for canceled shifts.
Harknett hopes the research will encourage policymakers and employers to view predictable scheduling as a family stability issue, rather than solely as a labor rights concern. The findings suggest that erratic shifts do not only shape workers’ paychecks; they can also reshape daily life, relationship stability, and long-term family well-being.
Article prepared by Victoria Caldwell.
