12-h shifts are popular but are they a solution?

Can varying the number of teams in a shift schedule constitute a preventive strategy?

“…8 Positive effects on social life have been shown after conversion to a 12-h shift schedule involving more days off but differences in adaptation among the participants were also noted. 1 Control over working time is reported to be a significant factor affecting the impact of a rota 13,17 and participation has been found to be important in creating a win-win situation. 18 Negative effects on satisfaction from no autonomy have also been noted.…”

“…As employees in four teams reported significantly lower individual and group influence on the design of the working hours, these results appear to conflict with results from other studies. 13,17 An explanation may be that perceived influence relates to the design of the schedule and not to the daily management of the working hours. The results indicate that the level of satisfaction at least in part derives from the daily management of the schedules and the importance of this may be extended by increased differences between influence on design and management.…”

Overtime and extended work shifts: recent findings on illnesses, injuries and health behaviors.

“…Also, Lowden et al [1998] reported no consistent The way other features of work schedules, work tasks, and work environment influenced the relationship of shift length and performance were examined by three studies. Smith et al [1998] reported improvements in alertness in 12-hour day/night rotations with flexible start times when compared with 12-hour rotations with rigid start times. The field study by Macdonald and Bendak [2000] reported that a combination of high workload and 12-hour shifts was associated more consistently with increased errors on grammatical reasoning, greater deterioration in hand steadiness and alertness, and more discomfort when compared to high workload during 8-hour shifts.…”

“…For example, Smith et al [1998] reported that 12-hour shifts having some flexibility in start times were associated with more favorable sleep quality, psychological wellbeing, and alertness, as compared with rigid schedules. One of the 52 summarized studies directly examined the influence of mandated or involuntary overtime.…”

Conflicts between employee preferences and ergonomic recommendations in shift scheduling: regulation based on consent is not sufficient

“…Barton 2 compared permanent night work and rotating-shift work of nurses and found "fewer health, sleep, social, and domestic complaints were reported by the permanent night shift nurses in comparison with the rotating-shift nurses, and these problems were further reduced when individuals in the night shift had specifically made the decision to work at night." When comparing the consequences of different shift systems, Smith et al 10 state that "The situation is not a simple one of 8 versus 12-hour shifts but rather one of how features of a rota are changed, how a new shift system is implemented, and the involvement in, and attitudes of the workforce to that change. " Smith et al 11 conclude that their study further supports the concept of shiftwork-specific locus of control as an indicator of better tolerance to shiftwork.…”