Objectives Mental health disorders are a leading cause of work disability and while the psychosocial workplace environment plays a critical role, working time characteristics are also implicated. We sought to examine the association between working time characteristics and mental health in a cohort of two unionized, full-time worker populations, correctional supervisors, and transportation maintainers. Methods Using a cross-sectional study design, we surveyed workers on working time characteristics across seven domains including length of the shift, the intensity or proximity of sequential shifts, the time of day, and social aspects of work hours including predictability, variability, control, and free time. Burnout symptoms (Oldenburg Burnout Inventory) and depressive symptoms (eight-item Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) were assessed along with the psychosocial work environment and health behaviors. We used log-binomial regression models to estimate prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals after adjusting for age, gender, and company. Results A total of 318 workers were surveyed. The majority (72%) of workers reported a fixed shift. The prevalence of burnout symptoms was higher among workers reporting more frequent shift intensity (working 6 or more days in a row) (PR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.31; P = 0.04). Low psychological demands and high worker social support were associated with fewer burnout symptoms, independent of working time characteristics. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher in workers reporting more frequent unpredictable work (PR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.35; P = 0.04) and was lower among workers reporting increased schedule control (PR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.77, 0.96; P = 0.01). Higher worker social support as well as sufficient sleep and adequate exercise were associated with fewer depressive symptoms, independent of working time characteristics. Conclusions Different working time characteristics were associated with work-related mental health (i.e. burnout) as well as general mental health (i.e. depressive symptoms). Work intensity was associated with the prevalence of burnout symptoms and the results suggest that the mechanism may be through the need for recovery from the psychosocial exposures of work. Both schedule control and predictability were associated with depressive symptoms and the results suggest that work-life imbalance and lack of recovery may be implicated. Comprehensive prevention policies that consider work organization along with the psychosocial work environment and work-life balance may help to improve workers’ mental health.

Background Non-standard work schedules (NSWSs), occurring outside of regular and predictable daytime hours, may negatively affect worker and family health. This qualitative study sought to understand worker perspectives on the health and well-being impacts of NSWSs among full-time, transportation maintainers, correctional, and manufacturing workers. Methods Forty-nine workers participated in 8 focus groups. Data were transcribed and analyzed with ATLAS.ti, using the constant comparative method to identify themes and sub-themes. Results Workers reported that long work hours and irregular and unpredictable schedules posed the biggest obstacles to their well-being. Workers reported that NSWSs were associated with behavior impacts (poor family and social connections, poor eating, poor sleep, lack of exercise recovery), physical health impacts (exhaustion, weight gain) and extended work exposures (increased stress, increased accidents). Conclusions This highlights the importance of developing and implementing effective workplace interventions to address these barriers to health and health behaviors.

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Unlike precarious employment which is temporary and insecure, with inadequate pay, benefits, and legal protections, precarious work schedules can affect workers with permanent full-time jobs in sectors where employment has historically been secure, well-compensated, and even unionized. Precarious work schedules – characterized by long shifts, non-daytime hours, intensity and unsocial work hours – are increasingly prevalent. Relations between precarious work schedules and poor health are not well understood, and less is known about how to attenuate this relation. We examined the indirect effects of precarious work schedules on fatigue and depressive symptoms through sleep quantity. Two moderators – schedule flexibility and sleep quality – were examined as buffers of these associations. Workers from the Departments of Correction and Transportation in a northeast state ( N = 222) took surveys and reported on demographics, work schedule characteristics, schedule flexibility, sleep quality and quantity, fatigue, and depressive symptoms. Results revealed that precarious work schedules had indirect effects on fatigue and depressive symptoms through sleep quantity. Schedule flexibility moderated the relation between precarious work schedules and sleep quantity, such that workers with greater schedule flexibility had more hours of sleep. Sleep quality moderated the association between sleep quantity and fatigue and depressive symptoms, such that workers reported greater fatigue and depressive symptoms when they had poorer sleep quality. Findings have direct applicability for developing initiatives that enhance Total Worker Health ® through individual and organizational changes. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41542-022-00114-y.

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