For women with children, the likelihood of marital failure was three times more likely. Presser noted that the effect on marriages without children was negligible which gives the impression that the added burden of child care responsibilities increases the stress within the home. Looking at non-standard hours in the service sector Kahn and Blum found that a unionized workforce did have certain advantages over their nonunion counterparts. Although management can still change the work schedule in a union setting, it is constrained by the terms of the bargaining contract. For example, contracts may require that workers have regular schedules and consistent start and finish times for a certain period of time.
Contracts can also contain language that requires a notice period of any changes to a work schedule.
In contrast, Kahn and Blum found that workers in nonunion settings were often subject to working irregular and unpredictable hours, sometimes not knowing shift hours until one week before which can greatly increase employee stress. Endicott Microelectronics is an IBM subsidiary with a non-union workforce. In October, it introduced mandatory 12-hour shifts for the 500 workers employed there. The shifts include weekends and holidays as scheduled workdays. Since its introduction, workers have reported high levels of fatigue and stress in trying to balance work with family responsibilities.