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The purpose of this paper is to identify the key determinants of organisational silence from the perspective of non-standard workers (NSWs). The study focuses on three research themes: first, analysing the experiences motivating NSWs to remain silent; second, analysing the role of the NSW life cycle in the motivation to remain silent, the final theme is evaluation of the impact on organisational voice of an organisation employing a workforce in which NSWs and standard workers (SWs) are blended.

The study utilises a phenomenological approach, as defined by Van Manen (2007), to collect and analyse the phenomenon of organisational silence from the perspective of NSWs. The NSWs are defined as individuals operating via Limited Liability UK registered companies created for the purpose of delivering services to organisations via a contract of services. This study employed a combination of phenomenology and hermeneutics to collect and analyse the data collected from the NSWs using semi-structured interviews (Lindseth and Norberg, 2004).

The study concludes with three core findings. NSWs experience similar motivational factors to silence as experienced by standard workers (SWs). The key differential between a SW and a NSW is the role of defensive silence as a dominant motivator for a start-up NSW. The study identified that the reasons for this is that new NSWs are defensive to protect their reputation for any future contract opportunities. In addition, organisations are utilising the low confidence of new start up NSWs to suppress the ability of NSWs to voice. The research indicates how experienced NSWs use the marketing stage of their life cycle to establish voice mechanisms. The study identified that NSWs, fulfiling management and supervisory roles for organisations, are supporting/creating climates of silence through their transfer of experiences as SWs prior to becoming NSWs.

This study is a pilot study, and the findings from this study will be carried forward into a larger scale study through engagement with further participants across a diverse range of sectors. This study has identified that there is a need for further studies on organisational silence and NSWs to analyse more fully the impact of silence on the individuals and the organisation itself. A qualitative phenomenological hermeneutical study is not intended to be extrapolated to provide broad trends. The focus of the phenomenological hermeneutic research methodology is on describing and analysing the richness and depth of the NSW’s experiences of silence in organisational settings.

This paper draws together the studies of worker classification, motivators for organisational silence, and the impact of blending SWs and NSWs in an organisational setting. The study demonstrates that academic research to date has focused predominantly on SWs to the exclusion of the 1.5 million, and growing, NSWs in the UK. This study examines these under-represented workers to analyse the participants’ experiences of organisational silence, and its consequences in organisational settings, demonstrating a need for further studies.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Finnish working mothers’ experiences of the effects of non-standard working schedules (NSWS) on family time in two family forms, coupled and lone-parent families. Furthermore the aim is to find out what meanings mothers with NSWS attached to family time paying particular attention to the circumstances in which mothers experienced NSWS positively.

Thematic analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews was used to investigate mothers’ experiences of the effects of NSWS on family time.

The key factor generating positive experiences was the ability to maintain regularity and togetherness, which was enhanced by specific features of work, such as autonomy and regularity, and successful child care arrangements. Also important were the values mothers associated with family time. The results highlighted the more problematic situation of lone-parent families.

The main limitation of this study was the small sample size.

The findings show how the parents of small children benefit from the regularity and flexibility in their working hours. Owing to irregular and varying working times, flexible around-the-clock childcare is needed. In Finland, an important question is how to organize the care of small school-aged children. Lone mothers, especially, may need services to help with domestic chores and childcare.

A non-resident parent can also be an important source of childcare. Therefore policymakers should take into account family type, including consideration of the rights to childcare of non-resident parents.

This study adds to the literature by explaining more in depth, through the richness of qualitative data, the circumstances in which mothers experience NSWS positively.

Nonstandard work schedules are increasingly common in today’s economy, and work during these nonstandard hours has a negative impact on health. Scholars investigating work schedules have yet to explore how marital status, which is linked with better health, may protect the health of US workers with nonstandard schedules. This study uses binomial logistic regression models to analyze pooled data from the National Study of the Changing Workforce (N = 6,376). Interaction terms are utilized to test if marital status variations occur in the relationship between work schedule and health for men and women.

The results demonstrate that while working a nonstandard schedule puts men and women at a lower odds of reporting good health compared to those who work a standard schedule, there is no difference in this relationship across marital status for men. However, nonstandard schedules are worse for the health of cohabiting and divorced, separated, or widowed women than for married women. The results indicate a significant interaction between work schedule and marital status exists for female workers and should be considered when examining the health of the population with nonstandard work schedules.