Adaptation to shift work: The role of an organizational context

Abstract

Shift work, especially when performed during the night, has been associated with several negative consequences from the point of view of occupational health and safety (e.g., sleep and digestive problems, fatigue, work accidents). This work schedule can also have negative impacts on social life and workers’ families, especially when working time collides with socially valued periods (e.g., Sunday, end of the day). In order to minimize such consequences, several intervention strategies have been proposed, some focused on the worker himself, others on the organization. This chapter intends to present and reflect on the key strategies that can be implemented in an organizational context in order to promote adaptation to shift work. Specifically, it aims to promote the following strategies: design of shift systems, training and information provided by the organization to employees, possibility of holding naps at work, physical resources (e.g., canteen, transport), and working time management practices in terms of human resources (e.g., degree of involvement given to workers regarding the management of their working time). Regarding this last strategy (management practices of working time), the results of empirical studies carried out in Portugal, especially inthe industrial sector, will also be presented, where the relationship between the adoption of such practices and some of the effects typically associated with shift work, namely the ones regarding health and social effects, were analyzed. Anchored in this presentation, the conceptualization and operationalization of such organizational intervention strategy will also be discussed.