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Data from the National Center for Health Statistics National Survey of Personal Health Practices and Consequences were analyzed to determine the impact of variable shift schedules on health-related behaviors of persons in the United States labor force. Twenty-six per cent of men and 18 per cent of women in the US labor force reported working a variable shift in Spring 1980. As compared to men working non-variable work schedules, those working variable shifts exhibited higher rates of heavy drinking, job stress, and emotional problems. Female variable shift workers reported higher rates of sleeping pill, tranquilizer, and alcohol use, as well as lower social network scores, more job stress, and more emotional problems.
Gordon et al. (1986) studied this question.