Work outside office hours - in the evening, night or weekend - does not necessarily have to have negative consequences for the family. Melissa Verhoef demonstrates this in her doctoral thesis. In it, she puts this type of work schedule in a more positive light than previous research on the topic and the current public opinion are doing.

Verhoef investigated the relationship between parents' work schedules, childcare and the well-being of parents and children. It turns out that work outside office hours gives parents more possibilities to look after their children themselves.

This makes childcare important to the well-being of these parents after all. This is because in families that use childcare, the well-being of fathers who work outside office hours is higher than that of fathers who work during office hours. In families who do not use childcare, it is mothers who work outside office hours who have a lower well-being.

CHILDREN

For the well-being of children, the relationship between parents and the employees of the childcare centre is important. The better this relationship is, the better it is for the child, Verhoef states.