Psychological Findings on Shift Work's Health and Safety Impacts
TITLE
Describe what psychologists have discovered about temporal conditions of work environments (shift💥work, effects of shift💥work on health, shift💥work and accidents).
ESSAY
🌟Temporal Conditions of Work Environments in Psychology🌟
🌟Shift💥work🌟
Shift💥work refers to a work pattern where employees do not follow the same schedule each week. This can include rapid rotation theories such as metropolitan rota and continental rota, as well as slow rotation theories as proposed by Pheasant (1991). Rapid rotation involves frequent shift changes, while slow rotation involves infrequent changes to allow for physiological adjustment.
🌟Effects of Shift💥work on Health (Knutsson, 2003)🌟
Knutsson conducted a review examining the relationship between shift💥work and various health issues. Studies have shown:
💥 🌟Mortality:🌟While some studies found little correlation between shift💥work and mortality rates, others have shown an increased risk in certain populations.
💥 🌟Gastrointestinal Disease:🌟Shift💥workers are more prone to gastrointestinal issues, including peptic and duodenal ulcers.
💥 🌟Cardiovascular Disease:🌟There is a significant relationship between shift💥work and cardiovascular disease.
💥 🌟Cancer:🌟Certain occupations, such as nurses and flight attendants working night shifts, have shown an increased risk of breast cancer.
💥 🌟Diabetes and Metabolic Disturbances:🌟Evidence of a direct relationship with shift💥work is inconclusive, but increased BMI in shift💥workers raises the risk of diabetes.
💥 🌟Pregnancy:🌟Shift💥work has been associated with premature birth, low birth weight, and an increased risk of miscarriage.
🌟Shift💥work and Accidents (Gold et al, 1992)🌟
Gold et al. conducted a hospital💥based survey on shift💥work, sleep, and accidents among 878 Massachusetts nurses, with 687 (all female) returning the survey. Findings showed:
💥 🌟Sleep Disruption:🌟Rotating shift workers experienced more disruptions to their sleep/wake cycles.
💥 🌟Accidents and Errors:🌟Rotators had twice the odds of nodding off while driving to or from work and an increased likelihood of accidents or errors related to sleepiness.
💥 🌟Recommendation:🌟Application of circadian principles in designing hospital work schedules may enhance the health and safety of nurses and patients.
In conclusion, shift💥work can have significant impacts on health and safety in the workplace. Understanding the various temporal conditions of work environments and their effects is crucial for designing effective interventions to mitigate risks associated with shift💥work.
SUBJECT
PSYCHOLOGY
LEVEL
A level and AS level
NOTES
🌟Temporal Conditions of Work Environments🌟
Psychologists have discovered various aspects related to temporal conditions of work environments, including:
🌟Shift💥work🌟
When a worker does not have the same work pattern each week, it is known as shift💥work. For example, working from 6 am to 2 pm for one week followed by working from 2 pm to 10 pm the next week.
💥 🌟Rapid rotation theory🌟: This theory involves frequent shift changes and can take the form of a metropolitan rota (2 day shifts, 2 twilight shifts, 2 night shifts, 2 days off) and continental rota (2 day shifts, 2 twilight shifts, 3 night shifts, 2 days off, 2 day shifts, 3 twilight shifts, 2 night shifts, 3 days off).
💥 🌟Slow rotation theory🌟: According to Pheasant (1991), slow rotation occurs when shift changes happen infrequently. For instance, working twilight shifts for three weeks, three days off, then nights for three weeks. Companies opt for slow rotation as it allows time for workers to adjust to shift pattern changes, thus these changes should occur rarely.
💥 Permanent night shift is considered better than a continental shift pattern as it causes less disruption to circadian rhythms.
🌟Effects of Shift💥work on Health (Knutsson, 2003)🌟
Knutsson conducted a review article exploring the correlation between shift💥work and various health issues:
💥 🌟Mortality🌟: Studies from the UK and Denmark found little to no correlation between mortality rates and shift💥work.
💥 🌟Gastrointestinal Disease🌟: Shift💥workers are more prone to gastrointestinal diseases compared to day workers. Peptic and duodenal ulcers are particularly common in shift💥workers such as printers, taxi drivers, truck drivers, and factory workers.
💥 🌟Cardiovascular Disease🌟: Several studies from different countries have shown a significant relationship between shift💥work and cardiovascular diseases.
💥 🌟Cancer🌟: Research involving nurses, flight attendants, and telegraph operators indicated an increased risk of breast cancer in women working night shifts. However, these studies could not account for the increased risk due to carcinogens.
💥 🌟Diabetes and Metabolic Disturbances🌟: Limited evidence supports a direct relationship between shift💥work and these health issues. There is some indication of increased BMI in shift💥workers, which raises the risk of diabetes.
💥 🌟Pregnancy🌟: Studies have linked shift💥work to premature birth, low birth weight, and an increased risk of miscarriage.
🌟Shift💥work and Accidents (Gold et al., 1992)🌟
A hospital💥based survey was conducted on 878 Massachusetts nurses, with 687 female nurses returning the survey. Comparison between nurses working day/evening shifts and rotators revealed the following:
💥 Rotators experienced more sleep/wake cycle disruption and nodded off more at work.
💥 Rotators had twice the odds of nodding off while driving to or from work and twice the odds of a reported accident or error related to sleepiness.
💥 Applying circadian principles to hospital work schedules may lead to enhanced health and safety for nurses and patients.