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

Characteristics of shiftwork schedules have implications for off-shift well-being. We examined the extent to which several shift characteristics (e.g., shift length, working sundays) are associated with three aspects of off-shift well-being: work-to-family conflict, physical well-being, and mental well-being. We also investigated whether these relationships differed in four nations. The Survey of Work and Time was completed by 906 healthcare professionals located in Australia, Brazil, Croatia, and the USA. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses supported the hypothesis that shiftwork characteristics account for significant unique variance in all three measures of well-being beyond that accounted for by work and family demands and personal characteristics. The patterns of regression weights indicated that particular shiftwork characteristics have differential relevance to indices of work-to-family conflict, physical well-being, and mental well-being. Our findings suggest that healthcare organizations should carefully consider the implications of shiftwork characteristics for off-shift well-being. Furthermore, although our findings did not indicate national differences in the nature of relationships between shift characteristics and well-being, shiftwork characteristics and demographics for healthcare professionals differ in systematic ways among nations; as such, effective solutions may be context-specific.

Bayesian estimation of hourly exposure functions by crash type and time of day.

The study describes an investigation of the relationship between crash occurrence and hourly volume counts for small samples of highway segments from two states: Michigan and Connecticut. We used a hierarchical Bayesian framework to fit binary regression models for predicting crash occurrence for each of four crash types: (1) single-vehicle, (2) multi-vehicle same direction, (3) multi-vehicle opposite direction, and (4) multi-vehicle intersecting direction, as a function of the hourly volume, segment length, speed limit and pavement width. The results reveal how the relationship between crashes and hourly volume varies by time of day, thus improving the accuracy of crash occurrence predictions. The results show that even accounting for time of day, the disaggregate exposure measure - hourly volume - is indeed non-linear for each of the four crash types. This implies that at any time of day, the crash occurrence is not proportional to the hourly volume. These findings help us to further understand the relationship between crash occurrence and hourly volume, segment length and other risk factors, and facilitate more meaningful comparisons of the safety record of seemingly similar highway locations.

The impact of night work on subjective reports of well-being: an exploratory study of health care workers from five nations.

OBJECTIVE: To carry out a survey data collection from health care workers in Brazil, Croatia, Poland, Ukraine and the USA with two primary goals: (1) to provide information about which aspects of well-being are most likely to need attention when shiftwork management solutions are being developed, and (2) to explore whether nations are likely to differ with respect to the impacts of night work on the well-being of workers involved in health care work. METHODS: The respondents from each nation were sorted into night worker and non-night worker groups. Worker perceptions of being physically tired, mentally tired, and tense at the end of the workday were examined. Subjective reports of perceived felt age were also studied. For each of these four dependent variables, an ANCOVA analysis was carried out. Hours worked per week, stability of weekly work schedule, and chronological age were the covariates for these analyses. RESULTS: The results clearly support the general proposal that nations differ significantly in worker perceptions of well-being. In addition, perceptions of physical and mental tiredness at the end of the workday were higher for night workers. For the perception of being physically tired at the end of a workday, the manner and degree to which the night shift impacts the workers varies by nation. CONCLUSIONS: Additional research is needed to determine if the nation and work schedule differences observed are related to differences in job tasks, work schedule structure, off-the-job variables, and/or other worker demographic variables.

The impact of night work on subjective reports of well-being: an exploratory study of health care workers from five nations

OBJETIVO: Coletar dados de pesquisa de profissionais da saúde no Brasil, Croácia, Polônia, Ucrânia e Estados Unidos com duas metas principais: (1) proporcionar informações quanto a aspectos do bem-estar que mais provavelmente precisam de atenção durante a elaboração de soluções administrativas para os turnos de trabalho e (2) examinar a existência de possíveis diferenças entre os países quanto ao impacto do trabalho no bem-estar de profissionais da saúde. MÉTODOS: Os respondentes de cada um dos países estudados foram divididos em dois grupos de profissionais: período noturno e período não-noturno. Verificou-se a percepção dos profissionais quanto ao cansaço físico, cansaço mental e tensão ao final da jornada de trabalho. Relatos subjetivos sobre a percepção da idade sentida também foram estudados. Foi feita uma análise ANCOVA para cada uma destas quatro variáveis. Horas trabalhadas por semana, estabilidade do horário semanal de trabalho e idade cronológica foram as co-variáveis usadas nestas análises. RESULTADOS: Os resultados dão evidente respaldo à proposição geral de que há diferenças consideráveis da percepção de bem-estar entre os países. Além disso, a percepção de cansaço físico e cansaço mental ao final da jornada de trabalho é maior entre os profissionais do período noturno. Difere entre os países, a percepção do cansaço físico ao final da jornada de trabalho, a maneira e o grau do impacto do turno noturno para os profissionais de saúde. CONCLUSÕES: Fazem-se necessários outros estudos para determinar se as diferenças observadas entre os países e esquemas de trabalho guardam relação com diferenças de funções no trabalho, estrutura dos horários de trabalho, variáveis externas ao trabalho e/ou outras variáveis demográficas dos profissionais.

Is worker age a simple demographic variable?

Birth-date-based chronological age is often used as a measure of worker ability. In the near future, employers will be required to improve their ability to assess the impact of aging on workers. The literature suggests a number of ways one might do this. Personal perceived age and work ability assessment are two promising alternative ways to assess worker age changes. In support of these alternatives and as a preface to the other papers presented in this journal, this paper suggests that personal perceived age reports differ from chronological age, are reliable, and appear to be worthy of further consideration.