Naslov
What aspects of shiftwork influence off-shift well-being of healthcare workers

Autori
Barnes-Farrell, Janet ; Davies-Schrils, Kimberly ; McGonagle, Alyssa ; Walsh, Benjamin ; DiMilia, Lee ; Fischer, Frida ; Hobbs, Barbara ; Kaliterna, Ljiljana ; Tepas, Donald

Izvornik
Applied Ergonomics (0003-6870) 39 (2008), 5; 589-596

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
night work; health; family

Sažetak
The length, timing and stability of work schedules are features of shiftwork that have implications for time, physical resources, and emotional resources that workers have at their disposal to meet family and personal responsibilities and to engage in valued roles outside work. With this in mind, the ramifications of shiftwork for off-shift well-being were explored in a study of healthcare workers from Australia, Brazil, Croatia, and the USA. We examined the extent to which shiftwork features (including length of daily shifts, number of work days per week, length of the work week, and stability of shift schedules) are associated with three aspects of off-shift well-being: work-to-family conflict, personal health, and depletion of mental resources. Because the challenges that various shiftwork characteristics create for workers may depend on work contexts that differ among nations, we also investigated whether relationships between shiftwork features and off-shift well-being differed among the four nations that participated in the study. The Survey of Work and Time (SWAT), which includes measures of job design and worker reactions to a variety of on-the-job and off-the-job issues, was developed and administered to samples of healthcare workers in Australia (n=217), Brazil (n=170), Croatia (n=189), and the USA (n=438). Off-shift well-being was assessed with a measure of work-to-family conflict (WFC), an index of physical and mental health (Healthy Days), and an index of mental well-being drawn from the Work Ability Index (Mental Resource Depletion). Setwise hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the hypothesis that shiftwork characteristics account for unique variance in well-being, beyond that accounted for by work demands, family demands, and personal characteristics (age, marital status). As hypothesized, shiftwork characteristics accounted for significant unique variance in all three measures of off-shift well-being. The pattern of standardized regression weights indicated that particular shiftwork characteristics have differential relevance to indices of work-to-family conflict, personal health, and mental well-being. Unique effects of shiftwork characteristics were most pronounced in the Australian and USA samples for WFC, and in the USA sample for Healthy Days. Our findings provide support for the position that healthcare organizations should carefully consider the implications of shiftwork characteristics for the well-being of workers in the larger sphere of their family and personal lives. Because prevailing job demands, off-job demands, and demographics for healthcare professionals differ in systematic ways among nations, effective solutions may be context-specific.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Psihologija

POVEZANOST RADA