Nonstandard work schedules are increasingly common in today's economy. Work during these irregular hours has a negative health impact. Scholars investigating work schedule have yet to explore how marital status, which is linked with better health, may protect the health of U.S. nonstandard shift workers. This study analyzes pooled data from the National Study of the Changing Workforce (N=6774) to test if marital status and gender variations occur in the relationship between work schedule and health. The findings show that cohabiting and divorced or separated nonstandard workers have lower odds of reporting better health than married individuals working standard schedules. A gender difference is also present, with nonstandard shifts being worse for the health of divorced or separated women than for married women. The results indicate a significant interaction between gender and marital status exists and should be considered when examining the health of the nonstandard working population.
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