Unpredictable working time, well-being and health in the police service

Abstract

The unpredictability of working time is a seldom studied, but increasingly prominent, feature of employment across occupations, including those where nonstandard or unsocial hours have become the norm. This paper proposes that unpredictability which is driven by employer demands for flexibility (e.g. scheduling practices) is associated with greater employee work-life conflict and perceived stress. This, in turn, has implications for health behaviour (alcohol consumption, sleep disturbance) and symptoms (digestive and cardiovascular problems). Increasing employee control through flexible working arrangements is examined as a potential moderator. We also examine the possibility that alcohol consumption exacerbates the negative effects of unpredictability on wellbeing and health. A survey of 1207 police officers, for whom working unsocial hours is commonly accepted, showed direct effects of unpredictability over and above nonstandard hours on digestive health, and indirect effects through wellbeing on sleep, digestive and cardiovascular health. In some cases, these indirect effects were reduced or absent with greater employee control through flexible working arrangements, although this was not uniform. The interaction of alcohol consumption was found to intensify the negative effects of unpredictability on wellbeing and some health outcomes. The findings reflect a tension between employer-centred strategies for enhancing workforce flexibility and flexibility practices which purport to provide employees with greater control and work-life balance. They are consistent with wider increasing strategic pressures towards employer-centred flexibility and suggest a challenge for sustaining employee wellbeing as working time becomes more unpredictable.

Work‐life conflict and employee health: A review

“…Studies examining the relationship between WLC and alcohol use have demonstrated both a positive indirect relationship (Frone et al, ; Leineweber, Baltzer, Magnusson Hanson, & Westerlund, ; Wang et al, ) and direct relationship (Frone et al, ; Scholarios, Hesselgreaves, & Pratt, ; Wolff, Rospenda, Richman, Liu, & Milner, ) between the two. Of the studies that indirectly relate WLC to alcohol use, psychological strain has been offered as a possible mediator.…”

Association between change in working time arrangements and sleep disturbance

“…Unpredictable working hours show a strong correlation with WFC [ 19 20 ], and WFC can cause sleep disturbance [ 21 ]. Furthermore, stress-mediated mechanisms could also be considered because changes in WTA can increase stress when applied with low control in a job demand-control model [ 13 ], and unpredictable schedules are known to increase perceived stress in practice [ 22 ]. It is well established that stress causes sleep disturbance through over-activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and increased sympathetic tone [ 23 ].…”

Work Schedule Unpredictability: Daily Occurrence and Effects on Working Parents' Well‐Being

“…Across definitions, however, previous findings have consistently shown work schedule unpredictability to be related to worse outcomes for workers and families. Compared to workers with predictable work schedules, those with unpredictable work schedules report more psychological distress, worse sleep quality, and worse physical health (Schneider & Harknett, 2019; Scholarios, Hesselgreaves, & Pratt, 2017). Unpredictable work schedules also correlate with important family functioning outcomes, including higher parenting stress and lower‐quality parent–child interactions (Henly et al, 2006; Schneider & Harknett, 2016).…”