LONGER is better when it comes to shift length for finding a better work-life balance, according to UK researchers.

The UK Public Health Research Consortium has found that bringing in a compressed working week for shift workers could lead to better work practices and a healthier workplace.

There is also the added bonus that the CWW introduction does not have a damaging effect on productivity and competitiveness for the organisation.

The review, recently published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health and headed by Durham University’s Dr Clare Bambra, considered the effectiveness of a CWW on the work-life balance of shift workers.

A CWW is up to four 12-hour shifts, with three days off, rather than the standard five eight-hour shifts, with two days off.

Finding the optimum shift length that satisfies the employer’s staffing needs and addresses requirements for the health and work-life balance of the workforce is important in terms of occupational health and safety, said the researchers.

Previous research has indicated an increase in shift-worker absenteeism compared to non-shift workers. Shift workers also suffer from associated health problems such as stress, fatigue, digestive problems and sleep disturbance.

In the only comprehensive and robust review to date, the PHRC reviewed 40 previous studies that explored the effects of a CWW on shift-worker health and work-life balance.

Based on the existing evidence and despite the methodological concerns of self-reporting, the team concluded that the introduction of a CWW may enhance the work-life balance for shift workers.

Also, a CWW does not appear to have a negative effect on health, according to the researchers. When a CWW is introduced into a workplace, overall, workers do not report a negative impact on their health in the short term.

The researchers also noted that having a CWW does not necessarily damage productivity or competitiveness. This means that the work-life balance and wellbeing of workers can be enhanced without a negative impact on the organisation.

Apples and oranges

Despite the positive outcome for the 12-hour shift in the review, Australian College of Ambulance Professionals vice-president John Hall warns about comparing apples with oranges.

“Ambulance officers are allowed to rest on their night shifts,” he said.
“That’s the advantage that ambulance and fire brigade officers have over the police and nurses. The police and nurses are up for the whole shift and the ambos and fire officers can put their head down when nothing is happening. That makes a big difference I think.
“A police officer can be going all night whereas a fire officer can turn up for a shift at six o’clock, go to bed at 10 o’clock and not get up until seven in the morning, which is the way these shifts work. The fire brigade certainly don’t want to change their shifts because they like them as they are.”
Popular with some
The different sort of work done during a shift helps to explain the reluctance of nurses to adopt the 12-hour shift as standard, according to Australian Nurses Federation federal secretary Ged Kearney.
“The 12-hour shift is not something that we promote widely,” she said.
“The 12-hour shift is generally not all that popular in nursing because of the physical nature of the job. It is quite exhausting and usually people like to stick to the eight-hour shift with the ADO, they like that sort of structure.”

While the 12-hour shift is not likely to be accepted by nurses across the board, Ms Kearney does highlight its popularity in some areas.

“There are some areas in which the 12-hour shift is quite popular and we tend to find this in the high stress areas such as ICU and mental health,” she said.

“The reasons the nurses like [the 12-hour shift] in those wards is they get the extra day off and they find that they can work their life a little better around their shifts.

“We are very happy to consider it in those circumstances when they do approach us but it would only be if the nurses asked us.”

Who benefits?

Although the researchers identified benefits to workers and employers with the 12-hour shift, Ms Kearney is wary of dressing up flexibility in rostering as a benefit to the worker, when it can be the employer that benefits most.

“We are very happy with the mixture of shifts for nurses but where we start to get concerned is when the shifts start to meet the employer’s needs rather than the employee’s needs,” she said.

“People always promote it as flexibility for the employee, but often it turns into being a money saver for the employer, where overtime isn’t paid.

“So we have to be very careful when we are negotiating flexibility of shifts in case it turns into being a discriminatory thing rather than something of choice.”

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