RESUMO
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine effectiveness of 12-hour shifts for nurses compared to 8-hour shifts for the variables: Work-Life Balance, fatigue and work errors. METHODS: In 2014, an opportunity to choose a 12-hour shift duty was given to a group of 8-hour shift nurses. In 2016, two years after this change, this study was done to compare the two groups. Data were collected using questionnaires. Data were sampled by a matching method with propensity score matching (PSM). The participants were 128 nurses: 64 nurses on 12-hour shifts and 64 nurses on 8-hour shifts. The comparison was analyzed using χ2 test, t-test. RESULTS: The nurses on 12-hour shifts showed higher scores for Work-Life Balance (3.37) than the groups on 8-hour shifts (2.99)(p=.018) whereas were no statistical differences between the groups for fatigue (p=.132) or work errors (p=.703). CONCLUSION: The Work-Life Balance scores for nurses who chose the 12-hour shift shows an enhancement without an increase in fatigue or work errors.