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Shiftwork and health

from Psychology, health and illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2014

By
Katharine R. Parkes
Edited by
Susan Ayers ,
Andrew Baum ,
Chris McManus ,
Stanton Newman ,
Kenneth Wallston ,
John Weinman  and
Robert West
Katharine R. Parkes
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Susan Ayers
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Andrew Baum
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Chris McManus
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital Medical School
Stanton Newman
Affiliation:
University College and Middlesex School of Medicine
Kenneth Wallston
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
John Weinman
Affiliation:
United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas's
Robert West
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London
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Summary

Current trends in shiftwork

Industrial and commercial activities that operate outside normal work hours have become widespread in recent years; services such as banking, communications, transport, catering and retailing are routinely available during evening hours, and often round-the-clock. Consequently, the work patterns of a substantial proportion of the population now extend beyond regular daytime working hours; variable schedules (often including evening or night work) and rotating shifts are both widespread. In a recent European survey, 28% of the workforce had variable work patterns, 10% had evening or night schedules, while 17% worked two-shift or three-shift rotating schedules (Boisard et al., 2003). Further analyses showed that the proportion of shift workers remained relatively constant up to age 45 years, but fell sharply at higher ages, particularly over 55 years (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2003), reflecting older workers' difficulties in adjusting to shiftwork.

Similarly, analyses of US survey data showed that, in 1997, 27.6% of the workforce had flexible work schedules, while 16.8% of full-time employees had ‘alternative’ schedules involving work outside normal daytime hours (06.00–18.00 hrs), 6.4% of whom worked night or rotating shifts (Beers, 2000). These proportions varied by occupation; rotating shifts were particularly common in security services (16.3%), mining (12.5%) and catering (8.7%), but infrequent among professionals and managers (1.7%). Night work was prevalent in healthcare, manufacturing and manual occupations.

Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine , pp. 496 - 500
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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