Working Time Arrangements Research Articles

The association between precarious employment and stress among working aged individuals in the United States

ObjectivePrecarious employment is a plausible stressor, which may adversely affect health. We investigated the association between multidimensional precarious employment and perceived and biological stress in the U.S. MethodsWe used data from waves 4 (2008–2009) and 5 (2016–2018) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Eight indicators were mapped to five dimensions of precarious employment to create a continuous score (PES, range: 0–5): material rewards, working-time arrangements, stability, workers' rights, and interpersonal relationships. Perceived stress was constructed from the four-item Cohen's perceived stress score (PSS; range: 0–16; wave 4). We measured biological stress in waves 4 and 5 via C-reactive protein (CRP). Given variability in CRP collection between waves, we treated wave 4 and 5 as cross-sectional. We employed adjusted linear regression models to estimate whether the PES was associated with the PSS in wave 4 (n = 11,510) and CRP in waves 4 (n = 10,343) and 5 (n = 3452). ResultIndividuals were aged 28 and 37 years on average in wave 4 and 5, respectively. Half were female and most identified as non-Hispanic (NH)-White (∼73 %), followed by NH-Black (∼14 %), Hispanic (∼9 %) and NH-other (∼4 %). Average PES was inversely related to education. The PSS averaged 8.1 (Interquartile Range [IQR] = 7.0,9.0). Average CRP was 4.4 mg/L (IQR = 0.8,5.0) in wave 4 and 3.6 mg/L (IQR = 0.8,4.2) in wave 5. The PES was associated with perceived stress (β=0.06; 95 % CI = 0.01,0.10) and CRP in wave 5 (β=0.34; 95 % CI = 0.07,0.62). ConclusionsGiven the deleterious effects of stress on health, policies to reduce precarious employment warrant consideration.

A simple model of flexible working time arrangements

AbstractWe offer a simple formalization of different types of flexible working time arrangements. Specifically, we study the distinction between employee‐oriented flexibility and employer‐oriented flexibility. The formal framework we offer can be useful in formulating hypotheses for the growing body of empirical work in the area.

Diversity of flexible working time arrangements and workers' health: An analysis of a workers’ panel and linked employer-employee data for France

Flexible working time arrangements (FWTA) have increased over the last decades, favored by labor market deregulation, the decentralization of collective bargaining and the development of new technologies. The negative impact of some non-standard working hours on health (like night work, shift work) is quite well-known but other forms of FWTA have been studied less so far.This article aims to investigate the relationship between FWTA and workers’ health. It focuses on employer-oriented FWTA and uses a job demands-control framework to identify different types of working time demands and control.The study uses individual data from the French working conditions survey, including panel data from 2013 to 2019 (64,981 observations) and cross-sectional employer-employee linked data from 2019 (5687 employees from 4672 workplaces).We identify empirically two main dimensions of employer-oriented FWTA, based on 14 working time variables. The first type involves “atypical working hours”, such as working weekends, nights, early mornings, evenings, or doing shift work. The second type – “work overflow” – is characterized by long working hours, overtime, taking work home, and having variable working hours.Using a fixed-effects model based on panel data, we show that both types of FWTA have a negative impact on workers' self-rated general health and mental health, as measured by the WHO-5 index. The study also finds that workers who have more control – both individual and collective – to face these demands demonstrate better health. Workers with control over their working hours report better health and are less negatively affected by FWTA. Moreover, workplace-level practices have ambiguous relationships with workers' health. However, those involving social dialogue and workers’ participation have more favorable effects: the positive effect of health and safety committees is especially clear.To improve workers’ health in the context of increased flexible working time arrangements, public policies should promote the development of control over working time and participation of workers to social dialogue on working time related issues.

The sexual function of female medical staff at Nam Dinh General Hospital in 2023

Objective: To describe female sexual function among health care workers at Nam Dinh Provincial General Hospital in 2023 and analyze some factors related to female sexual dysfunction in them Methods: A Cross-sectional descriptive study was used on 312 female medical staff at Nam Dinh Provincial General Hospital in 2023. Results: The percentage of female sexual dysfunction among healthcare workers is 42.95%. The female sexual dysfunction forms from highest to lowest are decreased desire (55.77%), decreased excitement (54.17%), lack of vaginal lubrication (50.64%), dissatisfaction ( 49.04%), difficulty achieving orgasm (47.76%), and pain during intercourse (38.78%). Some factors related to female sexual dysfunction found in the study were age, occupation, education level, housing status, and health status of the research subjects (p<0.05). Conclusion: The overall rate of sexual dysfunction among female medical staff at Nam Dinh Provincial General Hospital is relatively high. Therefore, measures for improvement are much needed. For example psychological counseling in periodic health checks, reasonable working time arrangements, and human resources arrangements. Keywords: Function, medical staff, Nam Dinh.

Working hours and health - key research topics in the past and future.

This paper discusses the past and present highlights of working hours and health research and identifies key research needs for the future. We analyzed over 220 original articles and reviews on working hours and health in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health published during the last 50 years. Key publications from other journals were also included. The majority of identified articles focussed on the effects of shift and night work, with fewer studying long and reduced working hours and work time control. We observed a transition from small-scale experimental and intensive field studies to large-scale epidemiological studies utilizing precise exposure assessment, reflecting the recent emergence of register-based datasets and the development of analytic methods and alternative study designs for randomized controlled designs. The cumulative findings provide convincing evidence that shift work and long working hours, which are often associated with night work and insufficient recovery, increase the risk of poor sleep and fatigue, sickness absence, occupational injuries, and several chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The observed risks are strongly modified by individual and work-related factors. Although the observed health risks of shift work and long working hours are mostly low or moderate, the widespread prevalence of exposure and the hazardousness of the many associated potential outcomes makes such working time arrangements major occupational health risks. Further research is needed to identify exposure-response associations, especially in relation to the chronic health effects, and to elucidate underlying pathways and effective personalized intervention strategies.

Tinjauan Pemberian Kompensasi Terhadap Produktifitas Kerja Petugas Rekam Medis Di Rumah Sakit Tere Margareth Tahun 2022

An employee can be said to be productive if he is able to produce goods or services as expected in a short or precise time. The population of this study is medical records officers in the medical records room at RSU Tere Margareth. The sample size is 5 RM employees. The instrument in this research used interviews with respondents who were RM officers at RSU Tere Margareth. The research results showed that the distribution of respondents' answers based on interviews showed that the identification of the Main Duties of Officers in the Hospital Medical Records Unit. Tere Margareth already has a medical record service manual No. Kep/095/I/2019 as follows regarding working time arrangements at Tere Margareth Medan Hospital, divided into 2 work shifts. The performance of medical records officers at Tere Margareth Hospital has two meanings, where first, compensation and performance are directly proportional to the implementation of the quality of work of medical records officers, where from the results of interviews it was found that officers felt very happy, enthusiastic and eager to carry out their responsibilities if their work compensation was increased. However, in the second aspect, whether or not there is compensation for medical records officers, they are still enthusiastic about doing their work because it is their responsibility to do daily work without having to be lured by high compensation. This indicates that awareness of the work responsibilities of medical records officers in Tere Margareth Hospital is good. Based on the results of the research conducted, it can be concluded that RSU.Tere Margareth should pay attention to officer compensation, so that it can help in increasing the productivity of medical records officers at Tere Margareth Hospital, Medan City and officers must also be aware that without compensation, officers continue to work and are responsible for his job.

The Non-Agricultural Labour Productivity Effects of Working Time: South Africa’s Case

The purpose of the current study is to assess the impact of working time on non-agricultural labour productivity in the South African economy. To achieve this objective, the study utilised the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) and correlation analysis to analyse the effects of different working time arrangements on labour productivity. The results of the study indicated that weekly working hours have a significant influence on worker productivity. Working between 30 and 39 hours per week was found to greatly enhance productivity both in the short and long term. Additionally, working between 15 and 29 hours per week showed a slight positive effect on productivity. Conversely, working more than 39 hours per week (between 40 and 45 hours) only increased productivity in the short term, while working less than 29 hours and exceeding 45 hours per week had a negative impact on labour productivity. These findings suggest that an optimal working schedule to maximise labour productivity is between 30 and 40 hours per week, with overtime not exceeding 5 hours per week. Establishing a proper schedule of weekly working hours is crucial for maximising labour productivity and reducing work-related stress, which can impede productivity.

When reality falls short of preferences: a response surface analysis of working time arrangements and older employees’ work ability expectations

In times of labor shortages and rising regular retirement ages it becomes increasingly important to maintain older employees’ work ability. In this study, drawing on person-environment fit theory, we assume that when working time arrangements do not meet older employees’ preferences this is negatively related to their expected work ability. We operationalize expected work ability as the age until which older employees believe to be physically and mentally able to work in their job. We use a subsample of 4347 employees aged 50 to 65 of the BAuA-Working Time Survey 2017. Results of polynomial regression analyses and response surface analyses reveal that expected work ability is lower when a) actual working hours exceed preferred working hours, b) provided flextime, that is the possibility to control one’s daily beginning and end of the workday, falls short of flextime preferences, and c) work-nonwork segmentation possibilities, that is the possibility to separate work from private life, fall short of the work-nonwork segmentation preferences.Practical Relevance:Our study is of practical relevance, especially to organizations who aim to keep their older employees in the workforce. The findings indicate that not only actual working time arrangements themselves but also the fit with older employees’ preferences can play an important role to keep them in the workforce.

Flexibility for equality: Examining the impact of flexible working time arrangements on women's convergence in working hours

AbstractDespite the rise in women's education and their increased participation in the workforce, there is still a lack of gender convergence in working hours. This study explores how flexible working time arrangements (FWTA) affect the convergence of women's working hours to those of men with similar job‐related characteristics. Using the German Socio‐Economic Panel and innovative methods to address endogeneity, the analysis suggests that FWTA, compared to fixed schedules, positively influence women's convergence. This is particularly pronounced among those working full‐time, the more educated, and those aged between 30 and 45. Transitioning to FWTA is associated with increased overtime and childcare hours but it is not related to more housework.

Managing Sustainable Working Hours within Participatory Working Time Scheduling for Nurses and Assistant Nurses: A Qualitative Interview Study with Managers and Staffing Assistants

Aim. To bring insights into how healthcare managers and staffing assistants work to achieve sustainable working hours within a participatory scheduling system. Background. Hospital nurses and assistant nurses often work on rotating shifts, which affects their opportunities for sleep, recovery, and work-life balance. In Sweden, a participatory scheduling approach is commonly used, where working hours are planned in collaboration between employees, managers, and staffing assistants. Influence over working hours is related to positive outcomes among shift workers. However, it also places responsibility on the employee to schedule working hours that promote health and patient safety, i.e., sustainable working hours. Accordingly, the organisation has responsibilities to support the employee in this regard. Methods. Semistructured individual interviews were conducted with 11 managers and 9 staffing assistants from four Swedish regions and analysed using thematic analysis. Results. Several key factors for achieving sustainable working hours within the context of participatory scheduling were described: distribution and clarity of responsibilities, allocating time for scheduling, establishing shared responsibility, considering fairness, fostering an individual relationship with the employee, managing dissatisfaction, providing support, clarifying guidelines for sustainable scheduling, managing inconsistencies between employee requests and sustainable working hours, and considering recovery opportunities and the competence mix on shifts. Additionally, contextual factors, such as staffing levels, working procedures, working time arrangements for night work, and technological support, were highlighted as important. Conclusion. Achieving sustainable working hours within participatory scheduling involves considering the interactions between factors at the levels of the organisation, the individual, and the technological systems. Implication for Nursing Management. Nurse managers and staffing assistants must work closely with their employees during participatory scheduling to ensure sustainable working hours. Key goals in this regard include establishing a shared responsibility, clarifying responsibilities and guidelines for sustainable scheduling, and allocating time for the scheduling process.

Analisis Ergonomi di Lingkungan Kerja Industri Rumah Tangga Kerupuk Ikan Tenggiri Agung Rasa di Cilacap

The fish processing industry in Cilacap district is a business that is quite popular, because processed fish is a superior product in Cilacap district, one of which is mackerel fish crackers. This is influenced by the fact that the Cilacap district is a coastal area and is a place for tourist visits so that people's interest in various food flavors is quite high. Ergonomic analysis is needed to create safe, comfortable and healthy working conditions so that work activities can be effective which has an effect on increasing productivity. The method used in this research is descriptive experimental through observation and interview methods. Located in the Agung Rasa mackerel fish cracker home industry. The results of the research obtained an ergonomic analysis using an approach to 8 ergonomic aspects in the form of use of muscle power, work attitude, nutrition, work environment, work time, information systems, socio-cultural conditions and human-machine interaction which is known to still not show ergonomic working conditions. From the results of this analysis, recommendations can be made in the form of implementing short breaks or implementing exercise between work activities to avoid feelings of boredom, fatigue and musculoskeletal complaints, then improvements to work stations, regular working time arrangements and layout arrangements can be implemented to create ergonomic working conditions.

Similar, but Different: Gender Differences in Working Time Arrangements and the Work–Life Interface

Gender inequities can be partly traced back to gender differences in working time arrangements. In fact, it is established knowledge that women as compared to men are more (less) likely to work part-time (overtime). Based on social role theory, however, we also expect gender differences among part-time and overtime workers, such that women and men differ in why they work part-time or overtime. In a preregistered and highly powered study conducted in Germany (N = 3,844–17,361, depending on the analysis), we observed that, on average, women were more likely than men to work part-time (i.e., fewer than 35 hours per week) because of personal or family obligations. Moreover, in comparison to men, women were less likely to work overtime (i.e., at least two hours per week) to attain additional income, but more likely to work overtime to step in for colleagues. Altogether, people had “gendered” reasons to work certain hours. Furthermore, as people’s paid working time arrangements are intertwined with their lives outside of the workplace, we examined women’s and men’s work–life interface and observed that women (as compared to men) deemed it less acceptable to be available for work-related issues during leisure time. We discuss implications for future theorizing and for practitioners who aim to design work schedules that consider the different lived experiences of women and men.

Working longer with working-time flexibility: Only when job commitment is high and family commitment is low?

Objective: This study investigates (a) whether job commitment and family commitment moderate the positive association between flexible working-time arrangements and work hours, and (b) whether childless women and men and mothers and fathers with the same levels of job and family commitment work equally long hours with flexible working-time arrangements. Background: As working-time flexibility increases at many workplaces due to digital technologies and work overload, so too does the risk of working longer hours. Although previous research has neglected job and family commitment as potential moderators of the relationship between working-time flexibility and long working hours, it has found gender inequalities in working hours among employees with flexible working-time arrangements, which have been attributed inter alia to men’s higher commitment to work and lower commitment to family. Method: Multivariate analyses were conducted based on German Family Panel (pairfam) data for 2018, 2019, and 2020. The sample comprised data from 4,568 employee-years, 1,666 part-time employee-years, and 2,902 full-time employee-years. Results: Among full-time employees, only those with high job commitment and low family commitment worked longer hours with employer-driven flexibility and working-time autonomy. Mothers with these arrangements worked fewer hours than childless women, childless men, and fathers, unless they had the same levels of job and family commitment as the latter three groups. Conclusion: These results suggest, first, that among full-time employees with flexible working-time arrangements, job and family commitment are driving factors for working long hours; second, that gender differences in work hours are shaped by parental status; and third, that these differences are due, at least in part, to differences in connectedness to job and family roles.

How effective are organizational-level interventions in improving the psychosocial work environment, health, and retention of workers? A systematic overview of systematic reviews.

This study aimed to systematically review the effectiveness of organizational-level interventions in improving the psychosocial work environment and workers' health and retention. We conducted an overview of systematic reviews on organizational-level interventions published between 2000 and 2020. We systematically searched academic databases, screened reference lists, and contacted experts, yielding 27 736 records. Of the 76 eligible reviews, 24 of weak quality were excluded, yielding 52 reviews of moderate (N=32) or strong (N=20) quality, covering 957 primary studies. We assessed quality of evidence based on quality of review, consistency of results, and proportion of controlled studies. Of the 52 reviews, 30 studied a specific intervention approach and 22 specific outcomes. Regarding intervention approaches, we found strong quality of evidence for interventions focusing on "changes in working time arrangements" and moderate quality of evidence for "influence on work tasks or work organization", "health care approach changes", and "improvements of the psychosocial work environment". Regarding outcomes, we found strong quality of evidence for interventions about "burnout" and moderate quality evidence for "various health and wellbeing outcomes". For all other types of interventions, quality of evidence was either low or inconclusive, including interventions on retention. This overview of reviews identified strong or moderate quality of evidence for the effectiveness of organizational-level interventions for four specific intervention approaches and two health outcomes. This suggests that the work environment and the health of employees can be improved by certain organizational-level interventions. We need more research, especially about implementation and context, to improve the evidence.

Working time arrangements and exhaustion: The role of recovery experiences and satisfaction with the schedule.

Working time arrangements may be a source of strain and entail negative consequences for workers, one of which can be exhaustion. Based on the job demands-resources and the conservation of resources theories, this study explores recovery experiences from work and satisfaction with the work schedule as possible resources that may prevent or minimize such negative consequences. With a sample of 386 workers (n = 287 women; 99 men) and using a cluster analysis, we identified five working time arrangements: fixed standardized, part-time, irregular standardized, flexible standardized, and nonstandard work schedule (NWS). A one-way ANOVA found that workers in the irregular standardized schedule report higher exhaustion compared to the fixed standardized and the part-time. Exhaustion of workers in NWS is higher compared to the part-time workers. A multiple linear regression analysis found that the link between recovery experiences and exhaustion varies according to the working time arrangement. Lastly, an interaction analysis confirmed the moderator effect of satisfaction with the work schedule in the relationship between recovery experiences and exhaustion for the whole sample. When this analysis was performed separately for each cluster, this effect was only significant for NWS and by disentangling this finding by recovery dimensions, only relaxation had a significant interaction effect. This study clarifies the links between different recovery experiences and exhaustion, and points to the importance of satisfaction with the work schedule in facilitating recovery under demanding working time arrangements. Results are discussed considering the complex nature of the work-family interface.

Alternative workplace arrangements: Tearing down the walls of a conceptual labyrinth

With its five-decade history, the literature on alternative workplaces, working time arrangements, and related issues now represents a relevant quantitative and qualitative articulate corpus regarding topics addressed, approaches applied, analytical tools implemented, and terminology used. Due to its complexity, this corpus appears as an indubitable labyrinth. However, it is unnecessary to be perplexed by this maze. It can be exited and the contributions hidden within it can be of value. This article presents a literature review of three different and related objectives: (a) to investigate the different conceptualizations and terminologies used for analyzing workplace arrangements (research streams), (b) to analyze the results of the individual streams to identify elements of overlapping and differentiation while tracing the connections between them, and (c) to identify future research guidelines for single streams and the entire field. We analyzed 344 academic publications. Our qualitative content analysis of the articles allows us to investigate the peculiarities of each research stream and grasp the relationships between them. We supplemented our analysis using Leximancer, a conceptual mapping tool. This article contributes heightened clarity in the complex research field of workplace arrangements. We provide a map of research streams assisting researchers to move across the labyrinth and introduces redesigned research avenues for the purpose of sharing insights and progressing straightforwardly. Increasing clarity within the field allows fellow researchers' contributions to be more accessible to practitioners, reducing their effort in finding relevant work and researchers.

Maternal precarious employment and child overweight/obesity in the United States

Precarious employment has increased in the United States and is now recognized as an important social determinant of health. Women are disproportionately employed in precarious jobs and are largely responsible for caretaking, which could deleteriously affect child weight. We utilized data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth adult and child cohorts (1996–2016; N = 4453) and identified 13 survey indicators to operationalize 7 dimensions of precarious employment (score range: 0–7, 7 indicating the most precarious): material rewards, working-time arrangements, stability, workers' rights, collective organization, interpersonal relations, and training. We estimated the association between maternal precarious employment and incident child overweight/obesity (BMI ≥85th percentile) using adjusted Poisson models. Between 1996 and 2016, the average age-adjusted precarious employment score among mothers was 3.7 (Standard Error [SE] = 0.02) and the average prevalence of children with overweight/obesity was 26.2% (SE = 0.5%). Higher maternal precarious employment was associated with a 10% higher incidence of children having overweight/obesity (Confidence Interval: 1.05, 1.14). A higher incidence of childhood overweight/obesity may have important implications at the population-level, due to the long-term health consequences of child obesity into adulthood. Policies to reduce employment precariousness should be considered and monitored for impacts on childhood obesity.

Changes in Precarious Employment and Health in the United States Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aimed to investigate the association between changes in employment precarity and changes in health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an online survey of 623 U.S. adults at-risk for cardiovascular disease, which queried respondents on employment, food insecurity, and blood pressure measurements in the Fall of 2020 and retrospectively, in February 2020. Respondents were also queried on perceived stress in the Fall of 2020. We created a multidimensional precarious employment score (PES) using 13 survey indicators, that operationalized the following dimensions of employment precarity (PES range: 0–13): material rewards, working time arrangements, employment stability, workers’ rights, collective organization, interpersonal relations, and training opportunities. Using adjusted linear regression models, we investigated the association between a change in the PES and 1) change in systolic blood pressure, 2) change in pulse pressure, 3) change in food insecurity, and 4) perceived stress. Models controlled for race/ethnicity, age, gender, and education. Results indicated that employment precarity was 13 % higher between February and Fall 2020, particularly among women and non-Hispanic Black respondents. A change in the PES was associated with a change in food insecurity (β: 0.02; 95 % CI:0.01, 0.03) and higher perceived stress (β: 0.39; 95 % CI:0.25, 0.53). The PES was not associated with a change in systolic blood pressure (β: −0.22; 95 % CI:-0.76, 0.32) nor in pulse pressure (β: −0.33; 95 % CI: −0.73, 0.07). Policy approaches to mitigate the growth in employment precarity, and in turn food insecurity and stress, warrant consideration to prevent widening of health inequities.

Applications and Perceptions of Workforce Management Systems for Warehouse Operation - Results and Findings from Expert Interviews

Workforce management represents a crucial element of today's warehouse operations. Due to volatile market dynamics and uncertain customer demands, the need for flexible and adaptive warehouse practices is especially urgent in the retail sector. High fluctuation rates in workforce demand are just one side effect of these developments. The current paper analyzes the application and perception of Workforce Management Systems (WMS) in practice as one approach to counteract these issues and enable flexible warehouse operations. By means of an online survey and a detailed set of expert interviews, we analyze the current use of WMS and information items in retail. We investigate design and time horizons of workforce planning processes as well as forecasts and summarize main expectations and requirements of WMS from practitioners’ point-of-view. Our results show highly diverse usage patterns of systems with a strong emphasis on spreadsheet tools like MS Excel. The integration of legislation on working hours, qualification of employees and individual working time arrangements / contract details were mentioned as exemplary key information items of WMS. The typical time horizon of workforce planning for most participants was three months. Key requirements for an ideal WMS include the depiction of qualification profiles, productivity of individual employees, forecasting features, simulation-optimization tools to find best possible solutions with given workforce, automated planning as well as bottleneck reduction and handling. The results of our paper provide practitioners with an overview of expert opinions, present opportunities for system development, and provide future research tasks in WMS for warehouse operation.

Flexible Working Arrangements and Social Sustainability: Study on Women Academics Post-COVID-19

One of the main challenges faced by companies, scholars, and governments nowadays is achieving economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Remote working, reduced work weeks, and other types of flexible working time arrangements (FWAs) are the new characteristics that will shape the future of work to ensure social sustainability. In changing work patterns, working styles are changed to possibly improve women employees’ mental health and life–work balance. However, recently, very few firms have succeeded in adopting these new FWA trends. The purpose of this paper is to investigate women’s preferences towards FWAs in the academic sector as a social sustainability source. We investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on female faculty members’ future job preferences. The data used in the research are collected from a survey given to female faculty members who work in a Saudi women’s university and have already experienced FWAs during the COVID-19 period. The study uses mixed methods of research, combining a choice modeling (CM) method, one sample t-test, a paired sample t-test, cluster analysis, and probit models. Our results show that flexible working arrangements improve the wellbeing of women employees, which ensures sustainable social development. The findings also show that flexibility in location plays a significant role in the decision made by female faculty members when revealing their flexibility preferences. However, flexibility in time did not play a significant role in the decisions made by respondents. This study adds to the empirical evidence in the current literature on female academic staff preferences for FWAs in Saudi Arabia, using choice modeling conjoint analysis and mixed approaches.