Article

Effects of On-Call Work on Well-Being: Results of a Daily Survey

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

Background: Flexible work schedules and on-call work are becoming more and more common in working life. However, little is known about the effects of on-call work on health. Methods: Using a daily survey method, 31 employees from an Information Technology Service Organisation filled out a questionnaire four times a week while they were on call and another four times a week while they were not on call. An evaluation of cortisol levels was included. Multilevel analyses were used to evaluate the data. Results: Results showed increases in irritation and negative mood and decreases in social activities, household activities, and low-effort activities. No effects were found concerning the secretion of cortisol. There were no significant differences between those employees who were actually called in to work during the on-call period and those who were not. Conclusions: Flexible work schedules like on-call work have effects on well-being. The mere possibility of being disturbed by calls shows negative consequences, regardless of whether the employees are actually called in or not.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... At the same time, the impact of on-call work 1 on employees' physical and mental health has attracted academic attention. Scholars have found that on-call work makes employees more likely to suffer from sleep disorders , depression, anxiety, and other negative emotions, regardless of whether they are called in to work (Bamberg et al., 2012;Kovac et al., 2020). The reason for this is that when employees are called in, their working hours increase. ...
... Unpredictable needs or emergencies are the most common situations for on-call work (Gärtner et al., 2019); in these situations, mistakes can have serious consequences, and asking a colleague for help will disrupt the rest and entertainment time of the colleague and may also be interpreted as a sign of incompetence. Therefore, on-call work may make employees worry more and generate greater work and social pressure (Bamberg et al., 2012). Even if an employee is not called in, being on call means the possibility of being scheduled to work. ...
... This uncertainty makes it difficult for on-call employees to separate life from work, which is not conducive to work-life balance. Bamberg et al. (2012) point out that if work recovery is insufficient, the short-term effects of stress can develop into long-term effects, causing physical and mental health problems. Psychological alienation from work is an important aspect of job recovery, meaning the cognitive and emotional distance from work-related responsibilities and not thinking about work-related issues (Ziebertz et al., 2015). ...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction With the rapid development of China’s “gig economy,” the on-call work model has grown increasingly prevalent in China and has attracted a large number of rural migrant workers with its low employment threshold. However, this irregular employment mode may negatively impact the mental health of workers. Methods This paper uses an ordinal logistic regression model to study the relationship between Chinese rural migrant workers’ on-call work and their depression. Results The results showed that after controlling for relevant variables, the odds ratio of depressive mood among rural migrant workers engaged in on-call work was 1.22 (95% CI 1.04–1.43) compared with rural migrant workers who did not need to be on call. In further heterogeneity research, we found that on-call work is more likely to aggravate the depression risk of rural migrant workers who are highly dependent on the internet and have low-wage incomes. Discussion This research suggests that appropriate measures should be taken to mitigate the negative impact of on-call work on the mental health of rural migrant workers, and more attention needs to be paid to the mental health of lower salaried and gig workers. This paper provides a valuable sample of Chinese rural migrant workers for theoretical research on the relationship between on-call work and mental health and confirms the relationship between the two. These results contribute new ideas to the theory and practice of psychological crisis intervention aimed at Chinese rural migrant workers.
... On-call shifts are often scheduled in between regular working shifts and frequently include weekends and overnight (1,3). On-call shifts are often used to provide 24/7 h daily coverage for facilities where emergencies require trained onsite personnel but the business volume does not require regular shift coverage (4). Many veterinary hospitals pay veterinarians and veterinary support staff a stipend to be on-call, a solution that many employers use to provide full shift coverage during off-peak hours for less money than a regularly staffed shift (5). ...
... Psychological detachment entails being able to mentally disengage from work and is critical to help prevent fatigue, burnout, and emotional exhaustion (37,54,55). Yet, being on-call has a negative impact on recovery (1,4,16,37). ...
... Papp found that sleep deprivation had a major impact on health professionals' personal life while other studies have shown that being on-call can negatively impact intimate relationships and family connections (38,39,63,64). Perhaps part of this impact might be due to the fact that the demands of being on-call can result in less time available for household activities and social activities (4). A lack of time to do household activities can strain relationships and add additional stress. ...
Article
Full-text available
Objective: To assess the impact of on-call duties on veterinarians' job satisfaction, well-being and personal relationships. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Sample: The sample was obtained from Veterinary Information Network (VIN) members in private practice within the United States. Procedures: A link to an anonymous online survey was distributed via an email invitation to all Veterinary Information Network (VIN) members with access from August 15, 2017 to October 21, 2017. Results: A total of 1,945 responses were recorded. The majority of those who reported having on-call duties were female associates. Composite scales were created to assess the impact of on-call shifts on job satisfaction and well-being. Multiple linear regression was conducted and found that gender (p = 0.0311), associate status (p < 0.0001), and age (p = 0.0293) were all significantly associated with on-call related job satisfaction. Additionally, multiple linear regression found that gender (p = 0.0039), associate status (p < 0.0057), and age (p < 0.0001) were all significantly associated with on-call related well-being. On-call shifts were reported by many to have a negative impact on job satisfaction and well-being; this was especially pronounced for female associates. Females had on-call related job satisfaction scores that were, on average, 1.27 points lower than that of males (lower scores equates to lower job satisfaction). Further, females' average on-call related well-being scores were 1.15 points higher than that of males (lower scores equates to higher well-being). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: This study suggests that on-call shifts have a negative impact on veterinarian job satisfaction, well-being and personal relationships. The negative impact on job satisfaction and well-being is greatest for female associates. Veterinary medicine has been identified as a stressful occupation that can lead to psychological distress. It is therefore important to critically assess current practices that appear to increase stress and reduce emotional well-being. For this reason, it is suggested that veterinary hospitals explore alternative options to traditional on-call shifts.
... The unpredictability, and the fact that employees are usually only called in case of a critical incident when there is no one else to deal with incident, may induce stress (Bamberg et al., 2012;Geurts & Sonnentag, 2006;McGrath, 1976). Stress refers to a subjective and physiological state which is accompanied by high arousal and displeasure (Kristensen et al., 1998). ...
... The restrictions may impair recovery and well-being by interfering with employees' leisure activities and/or causing work-home interference (Van Hoo et al., 2007;Bamberg et al., 2012). Work-home interference is a conflict that occurs when pressures from work and private life are incompatible (Roehling et al., in Moen, 2003). ...
... More recent studies also show that on-call work can impair well-being and performance (e.g. Arnedt, Owens, Crouch, Stahl & Carskadon, 2005;Bamberg et al., 2012;Emmet, Dovey & Wheeler, 2013;Tucker et al., 2010;Van der Ven et al., 2015). ...
Book
CALL ME MAYBE: A work-psychological perspective on on-call work and well-being (doctoral dissertation)
... On-call or stand-by work is an occupational arrangement where an employee must be available to be contacted to start, or resume work, at short notice (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016; Bamberg et al., 2012). Over the past decade, irregular work schedules have become increasingly prevalent worldwide (Golden, 2015;Parent-Thirion et al., (McCrate, 2018;Nicol and Botterill, 2004). ...
... The stress associated with on-call work has received recent attention (Hall et al., 2017a, b;Ziebertz et al., 2015), and is thought to result from factors including the inherent unpredictability of calls, rumination about the actual work to be performed when called, and the inability of workers to 'switch off' (Bamberg et al., 2012;Paterson et al., 2016). Previous research suggests there is a bi-directional relationship between sleep and physiological stress (Steiger, 2002). ...
... Cortisol is the most widely accepted biomarker of hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis activation (Kirschbaum and Hellhammer, 1989). Some on-call studies have reported no difference in workers' evening salivary cortisol concentrations (Bamberg et al., 2012), diurnal cortisol levels (Hall et al., 2019), 24-h urinary cortisol (Ernst et al., 2014), and 24h salivary cortisol (Malmberg et al., 2007). In contrast, other research has demonstrated on-call work is associated with alterations in the functioning of the physiological stress systems, showing a steeper increase in the area under the curve with respect to increase (AUC I ) of salivary cortisol in response to waking (Dettmers et al., 2016), increased 24-h urinary excretion of adrenaline (Samel et al., 2004), and noradrenaline (Ernst et al., 2014;Samel et al., 2004). ...
Article
Objective: This study had two specific objectives, 1) to investigate the impact of being on-call on overnight heart rate variability during sleep and; 2) to examine whether being on-call overnight impacted next-day salivary cortisol concentrations. Methods: Data are reported from three within-subject laboratory studies (n = 24 in each study) that assessed varying on-call conditions. Healthy male participants (n = 72 total) completed a four-night laboratory protocol, comprising an adaptation night, a control night, and two counterbalanced on-call nights with varying on-call conditions. These on-call conditions were designed to determine the impact of, Study 1: the likelihood of receiving a call (definitely, maybe), Study 2: task stress (high-stress, low-stress), and Study 3: chance of missing the alarm (high-chance, low-chance), on measures of physiological stress. Overnight heart rate variability (HRV) (during sleep) was measured using two-lead electrocardiography, and time- and frequency-domain variables were analysed. Saliva samples were collected at 15-min time intervals from 0700-0800 h to determine cortisol awakening response outcomes and at four daily time points (0930 h, 1230 h, 1430 h, and 1730 h) to assess diurnal cortisol profiles. Results: There were few differences in HRV measures during sleep across all three studies. The only exception was in Study 1 where the standard deviation of the time interval between consecutive heartbeats and the root mean square of consecutive differences between heartbeats were lower across all sleep stages in the definitely condition, when compared to control. Across all three studies, being on-call overnight also had little impact on next-day cortisol awakening response (CAR), with the exception of Study 2 where the 1) CAR area under the curve with respect to increase was blunted in the high-stress condition, compared to the control and low-stress conditions and, 2) CAR reactivity was higher in low-stress condition, compared with the high-stress condition. In Study 1, diurnal cortisol area under the curve with respect to ground was lower in the on-call conditions (definitely and maybe) when compared to control. There were no differences in diurnal cortisol measures in Study 3. Conclusion: This is the first study to investigate how different aspects of being on-call affect physiological stress responses. Overall, relatively little differences in measures of overnight heart rate variability and next-day cortisol response were recorded in all three studies. Further research utilising real on-call work tasks, not just on-call expectations (as in the current study) will help determine the impact of on-call work on the physiological stress response.
... An overview of the available literature shows that most studies have been qualitative and interviewbased [83][84][85][86][87] or self-report (questionnaire data) [88][89][90][91][92][93] and conducted in the healthcare sector 85,86,88,89,91,[93][94][95] , particularly among General Practitioners (GPs). They have focused on outcomes for on-call workers, such as workload 86,91,92) and sleep 88,91,92,[94][95][96][97][98] . ...
... Again, almost without exception, studies highlight conflict between the competing demands of family and on-call activities 79-85, 87, 90, 93, 101) . The main sources of conflict relate to regular interruptions to family life 85,87,93,100) , restrictions of life's activities outside work 83,84,90,100) and generally doing less household and social activities during call periods 90) . Interestingly, on-call workers are often acutely aware of the impact on their partners with several studies specifically noting the support role that spouses and families play and sacrifices that they make for the on-call work to occur 83,84,87,97) . ...
... Again, almost without exception, studies highlight conflict between the competing demands of family and on-call activities 79-85, 87, 90, 93, 101) . The main sources of conflict relate to regular interruptions to family life 85,87,93,100) , restrictions of life's activities outside work 83,84,90,100) and generally doing less household and social activities during call periods 90) . Interestingly, on-call workers are often acutely aware of the impact on their partners with several studies specifically noting the support role that spouses and families play and sacrifices that they make for the on-call work to occur 83,84,87,97) . ...
Article
Full-text available
Working time arrangements that require shift work or other non-standard working hours have significant potential to encroach on time that is highly valued for family, social and leisure activity. This can often result in workers experiencing poorer work-family or work-life balance. Based on an extensive literature search and expert knowledge, primary risk factors were identified including shift work; long, irregular and unpredictable working hours; and work on evenings and weekends (in combination and independent of shift work). On the other hand, flexibility, in the form of adequate worker control over work schedules, may be a protective factor. In addition, workers experiencing excessive work-life conflict are likely to reduce their working hours, reflecting a reciprocal relationship between working hours and work-life balance. Workers’ families are also affected by shift work and non-standard working hours. Parents’ shift work is associated with poorer emotional and developmental outcomes for their children, and to a greater likelihood of risky behavior in adolescence. Additionally, the risk of separation or divorce is increased, especially for parents working night shifts. Due to relationships such as those above, the consequences of shiftwork and non-standard working hours on family and social life are largely dependent on a complex interaction between specific work schedules, other aspects of work organization, and family and individual worker characteristics. This article provides an overview of current evidence regarding the relationships between working time arrangements and various social and family variables, and concludes with shift scheduling and intervention recommendations to improve work-life balance and social well-being.
... Moreover, they are usually less expensive for organizations, as the compensation employees receive for being on-call is typically far less than working a regular shift or overtime. However, while it may be less costly for the organization, the unpredictability of being called in to work has been shown to have negative consequences, regardless of whether or not employees are actually called in [1]. ...
... Two cost metrics are employed to evaluate the rosters generated in the computational study. The rostering cost refers to the value of the objective function of the robust rostering model detailed in Equation (1). Meanwhile, the rerostering cost refers to the objective function value of the rerostering model detailed in Equation (19). ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Disruptions to personnel rosters caused by absenteeism often necessitate last-minute adjustments to the employees' working hours. A common strategy to mitigate the impact of such changes is to assign employees to reserve shifts: special on-call duties during which an employee can be called in to cover for an absent employee. To maximize roster robustness, we assume a predict-then-optimize approach that uses absence predictions from a machine learning model to schedule an adequate number of reserve shifts. In this paper we propose a methodology to evaluate the robustness of rosters generated by the predict-then-optimize approach, assuming the machine learning model will make predictions at a predetermined prediction performance level. Instead of training and testing machine learning models, our methodology simulates the predictions based on a characterization of model performance. We show how this methodology can be applied to identify the minimum performance level needed for the model to outperform simple non-data-driven robust rostering policies. In a computational study on a nurse rostering problem, we demonstrate how the predict-then-optimize approach outperforms non-data-driven policies under reasonable performance requirements, particularly when employees possess interchangeable skills.
... Neither the instruction nor the presence of sounds affected any of these arousal parameters, suggesting that the observed effects of pre-sleep intentions did not generalize to heart-related arousal indicators. Similarly, in real-life studies during on-call duty, physiological markers of stress (e.g., salivary cortisol) were not significantly altered [28,29]. In addition, in our study, there were no effects on vigilance in the morning or memory consolidation due to the "on call" instruction, in spite of significant disruptions in sleep measures. ...
... A semi-automatic artefact correction was performed (pre-selecting artefacts of ±600 µV and an interval length of 200 ms), and remaining artefacts were removed manually. We calculated the average power of oscillatory activity in different frequency bands as follows [1,39,40]: slow-wave activity (SWA, 0.5-4.5 Hz), slow oscillatory activity (SO, 0.5-1 Hz), delta activity (1-4 Hz), theta activity (4.5-8 Hz), alpha activity (8)(9)(10)(11), activity in the slow spindle (11)(12)(13), and fast spindle band (13)(14)(15), as well as beta activity (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30). Data from lights-off in the evening to lights-on in the morning were analyzed and segmented for NREM sleep (N2 and N3 sleep) and REM sleep. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Pre-sleep intentions to react to stimuli during sleep affect sleep processes in spite of reductions in conscious awareness. Here, we compare influences of sounds presented during sleep (with and without intentions to react) with the effect of pre-sleep intentions on sleep (with and without sounds being present during sleep). Methods: Twenty-six young, healthy participants spent two experimental nights in the sleep laboratory. On one night, they were instructed to react to sounds during sleep ("on call"); on the other night, not ("neutral"). Unknown to the subjects, sounds were presented at a low volume in both nights in one group. No sound was presented in any of the two nights in the other group. Results: The instruction of being "on call" decreased objective sleep efficiency independently of sounds being present or not. In addition, event-related responses to sounds as well as slow-wave activity were reduced when being "on call". Conclusions: Pre-sleep intentions to react impair sleep independently of sounds actually being present and influence brain responses to sounds during sleep. Our results highlight the importance of subjective relevance for reducing negative impact of external noise sources such as traffic or church bells.
... Daily life data, which captures the behaviors, feelings, and psychiatric symptoms as they occur in an individual's natural environment, have grown increasingly popular in the last decade. These types of data are often collected using specifically designed methods, such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA) [4], the day reconstruction method [5,6], and daily surveys [7]. There has been a growing body of research that utilizes daily life data, especially EMA data, in studying mental health conditions like depression and other mood disorders [8][9][10][11], anxiety [12], and eating disorders [13]. ...
... To match the underlying decision-making theory, assessment tools for a natural sequential decision-making task should contain repeated measures of the action, state, and reward related to the task. The measures should be operationalized in the daily lives of respondents using a daily life data collection approach like daily surveys [7] or EMA [4]. We illustrate the details of this step below (Section 3.5) by drawing on a pilot study on depression among university students. ...
Article
Mental health informatics studies methods that collect, model, and interpret a wide variety of data to generate useful information with theoretical or clinical relevance to improve mental health and mental health care. This article presents a mental health informatics approach that is based on the decision-making theory of depression, whereby daily life data from a natural sequential decision-making task are collected and modeled using a reinforcement learning method. The model parameters are then estimated to uncover specific aspects of decision-making impairment in individuals with depression. Empirical results from a pilot study conducted to examine decision-making impairments in the daily lives of university students with depression are presented to illustrate this approach. Future research can apply and expand on this approach to investigate a variety of daily life situations and psychiatric conditions and to facilitate new informatics applications. Using this approach in mental health research may generate useful information with both theoretical and clinical relevance and high ecological validity.
... Furthermore, there is relatively little research on how interindividual differences influence the relationship between WREA and health-related constructs. Existing studies indicate that interindividual differences may indeed impact the relationship between forms of work-related availability and health (e.g., Bamberg et al., 2012;Dettmers and Biemelt, 2018;Ohly and Latour, 2014). Particularly segmentation preferences, the preference to either separate or integrate work and private life, may be relevant in this respect. ...
... Note 1. However, a diary study with on-call workers did not find any association between being on call and sleep quality (Bamberg et al., 2012). ...
Article
Work-related extended availability (WREA) refers to employees being available for work-related matters during leisure time. Although studies have suggested negative effects of WREA on employee health, there is a scarcity of longitudinal research especially studies trying to disentangle how WREA may impact health. Moreover, there are only few studies dealing with interindividual differences in the effects of WREA on health. These aspects are crucial as they can help laying a foundation for interventions that help coming to terms with negative effects of WREA. The current study implemented a cross-lagged panel design with three waves to clarify how effects of WREA unfold and whether there are interindividual differences. Based on the stressor-detachment-model and person-environmental-fit theory, we proposed that (1) the relationship between WREA and sleep as well as between WREA and exhaustion is mediated by psychological detachment, and (2) that the relationship between WREA and the outcomes is moderated by segmentation preferences. In total, 528 employees (320 women, mean age = 48 years) participated in the study. Although there was a cross-lagged negative association between WREA and detachment, we did not find an indirect relationship between WREA and either sleep or exhaustion via detachment. Moreover, we did not find evidence for interindividual differences in the effects of WREA on any of the outcomes. On the basis of the negative cross-lagged relationship between WREA and detachment from work, we recommend organizations to discourage employees from WREA, because failure to regularly recover from work may lead to health issues in the long run.
... Although the number of studies on off-site on-call work has increased over the last decade (cf. Bamberg, Dettmers, Funck, Krahe, & Vahle-Hinz, 2012;Dettmers, Vahle-Hinz, Bamberg, Friedrich, & Keller, 2016;Van de Ven et al., 2015;Wuyts et al., 2012;Ziebertz, Beckers, Van Hooff, Kompier, & Geurts, 2017;Ziebertz et al., 2015), insight into characteristics and experiences of off-site on-call work is still scarce. Information about, for example, how much time employees spend working after a call, whether they have to commute to work or can perform work tasks from home, or whether (and how) their on-call shifts and actual calls are being compensated is lacking. ...
... Stress due to this unpredictability can be expected to impede the recovery process even if no actual call occurs, and hence could relate adversely to fatigue and sleep. Furthermore, the experience of restrictions due to being on-call (i.e., workers have to be able to rush to work at any time and often have to remain within a certain radius from their workplace) may interfere with leisure activities and thereby impair the quality and level of recovery (Bamberg et al., 2012;Van Hooff et al., 2011). In line with the Effort-Recovery theory (Meijman & Mulder, 1998), ERI model (Siegrist, 1996), and the two existing studies on on-call experiences (Ziebertz et al., 2015(Ziebertz et al., , 2017, we proposed: ...
Article
Full-text available
Research on off-site on-call work is scarce and insight into the characteristics and experience of off-site on-call work is limited. This study provides an overview of the characteristics of off-site on-call work and the way in which employees experience their off-site on-call duties. In addition, the relationship was investigated between characteristics and experiences of off-site on-call work on the one hand and fatigue and sleeping problems on the other. Data were collected in 2017 by means of an online questionnaire that was distributed among a large sample of employees from different industries. The final sample consisted of more than 2000 Dutch employees, who were exposed to off-site on-call work in their work. The results show that most employees are regularly to often called during off-site on-call work, and that the majority experiences being on-call quite as unfavorable. Hierarchical regression analyses show that fatigue and sleeping problems are more strongly related to negative experiences of off-site on-call duties than to exposure to objective characteristics of these duties (such as the frequency of off-site on-call work or the number and duration of calls). In summary, this study points to a high prevalence of adverse experiences of off-site on-call work. In line with this, it can be concluded that even off-site on-call work with a low frequency of calls can be a risk factor for fatigue and sleeping problems.
... The documented impacts for on-call workers however, appear to be less favorable. On-call workers report increased stress (French et al., 2001), anxiety (Cebola et al., 2013), and irritation (Bamberg et al., 2012). Furthermore, being on-call can negatively impact time spent with partners, children and social networks Karan et al., 2019;G. ...
... The burden of on-call for sleep however may extend beyond just reduced sleep opportunity. Anecdotal and subjective reports consistently show that on-call workers believe that they do not sleep as well when they are on-call, even when they do not receive calls (Bamberg et al., 2012;Jay et al., 2018;Paterson et al., 2016;Van de Ven et al., 2015). Results from studies using objective measures are more limited, but generally indicate that, even in the absence of calls, aspects of sleep are indeed impacted (Sprajcer et al., 2018c;Torsvall & Åkerstedt, 1988;Wuyts et al., 2012;Ziebertz et al., 2015). ...
Article
Background On-call working arrangements have been shown to negatively impact sleep. However, workers may perceive their sleep to be worse than it actually is. The aim of this study was to compare participants’ pre- and post-sleep estimates of sleep duration and sleep quality with objectively measured sleep when on-call under laboratory conditions. Participants 72 healthy, adult males. Methods Analyses were performed on three interrelated studies, all of which consisted of four nights in a sleep laboratory. Following adaptation and baseline nights were two on-call nights (sleep opportunity 23:00 h – 07:00 h). Before and after each sleep opportunity, participants provided subjective estimates of sleep. Sleep was objectively measured using polysomnography. Results Estimated sleep duration (6.74 ± 1.13 h) and sleep onset latency (20.55 ± 14.85 min) were significantly poorer than objectively measured sleep outcomes (sleep duration 7.21 ± 1.25 h; sleep latency 13.20 ± 10.06 min). Of the variance in post-sleep estimated sleep duration, 14% was associated with objectively measured minutes of N3 (R²Δ = 0.55) and REM (R²Δ = 0.75). Additionally, 14% of post-sleep sleep quality estimation variance was associated with minutes of N2 (R²Δ = 0.60) and N3 (R²Δ = 0.79), measured by polysomnography. Conclusions Some objective measures of sleep were associated with subjective estimates of sleep duration and sleep quality. However, individuals may overestimate sleep onset latency and underestimate sleep duration during on-call periods. It may be beneficial for on-call workers to actively reflect on feelings of fatigue/alertness for workplace fatigue management, rather than relying solely on estimates of sleep.
... While not specifically addressed in on-call populations-potential impacts of on-call work on relationship quality can be inferred from other studies that have demonstrated that the experience of being on-call corresponds with increased negative mood and irritability and lower desire to socialise and participate in household responsibilities [51]. With the potential for sleep disruption to adversely influence mood and emotional responsiveness, the sleep disturbances due to the on-call work arrangement may have the potential to negatively impact personal relationships. ...
... In specific on-call populations, both workers and their partners have described the tendency for partners to take on extra household responsibilities when workers were on-call or when workers were too tired to contribute following a period of on-call activity during the night [16,17,51]. For female partners this may be a significant burden, as females today still take on twice as much of the domestic responsibilities as males, irrespective of the time they spend in employment [18,54]. ...
... The present study focuses on the not regulated part of (a). A typically more regulated aspect of (a) would be on-call work, which is not covered here, but also results in negative health-related outcomes (Bamberg et al. 2012). ...
... For step (1) and (2), we used a mixed-method design comprising of a questionnaire and subsequent diary study (1 week), linking the data with an anonymous code. This structure is suggested for covering stable (questionnaire in our case; but also medical examinations are a possibility (Bamberg et al. 2012) and more flexible (diary study) characteristics that may change due to varying circumstances (Ohly et al. 2010). In case only the latter are of interest, diary studies can also measure several points in time on one single day (Brosch and Binnewies 2018). ...
Article
Full-text available
Digitalization has tremendous positive, but also negative potential for the organization and individual employees. The basic question therefore is how to design a digitalized environment that fosters idea generation and development and ensures good working practices of employees. In order to understand the requirements for the latter, the current implications of digitalization on employees have to be understood. This is of specific importance for expert organizations as these are dependent on product and service innovation as competitive advantage. In this paper, we focus on the antecedents of a very specific outcome of digitalization related to employee behavior with postulated influence on innovative capacity: extended availability and subsequent insufficient detachment with its potential consequences. Since the drivers and the extent of extended availability for work have not been sufficiently researched so far, the basis for developing solutions is incomplete. In this paper, we therefore investigate the working habits and reasons related to extended work related availability. Based on a quantitative investigation in three steps and using structural equation modelling, we show the interaction between the drivers of extended availability and the resulting additional time spent for working in expert organizations. By doing so, our research contributes to the discussion of optimizing the degree of digitalization employed or promoted in organization and establishes the link between the digitalized work setting, observed behavior, and its reasons.
... While not specifically addressed in on-call populations-potential impacts of on-call work on relationship quality can be inferred from other studies that have demonstrated that the experience of being on-call corresponds with increased negative mood and irritability and lower desire to socialise and participate in household responsibilities [51]. With the potential for sleep disruption to adversely influence mood and emotional responsiveness, the sleep disturbances due to the on-call work arrangement may have the potential to negatively impact personal relationships. ...
... In specific on-call populations, both workers and their partners have described the tendency for partners to take on extra household responsibilities when workers were on-call or when workers were too tired to contribute following a period of on-call activity during the night [16,17,51]. For female partners this may be a significant burden, as females today still take on twice as much of the domestic responsibilities as males, irrespective of the time they spend in employment [18,54]. ...
Article
Full-text available
The on-call schedule is a common work arrangement that allows for the continuance of services during periods of low demand or emergencies. Even though 17%–25% of the world’s population participate in on-call work, the human impacts of on-call are generally poorly described in the literature. Of the studies available on the effects of on-call work on workers, disturbances to sleep duration and sleep quality are the most commonly reported, along with negative sleep-related consequences on sleepiness, fatigue, stress and mood. Research has shown that for couples sharing a bed, disturbances to sleep can impair relationship conflict resolution and reduce relationship quality. In the ‘off-site’ on-call scenario where workers are sleeping at home, their co-sleeping partner may be at risk of sleep disturbances and the subsequent detrimental consequences of this disturbed sleep for themselves and their relationship. To date, few studies have investigated the impact of on-call work for partners’ sleep and the potential sleep-related consequences. Therefore, further studies are needed to specifically address whether on-call work impacts the sleep of partners and whether these sleep disturbances also impact the partner’s daily performance and relationship quality. Our aim was to provide a narrative around the existing, relevant literature that both investigate and inform the potential impact of on-call for workers’ partners’ sleep and related consequences.
... A recent three-wave longitudinal study (Dettmers, 2017) provides strong evidence that extended work availability during off-job time negatively affects emotional exhaustion over time and that this effect can be explained by an increase in work-family conflict and a reduction in psychological detachment. Although studies have shown that extended availability is a main stressor in modern forms of work, the identified mean effects are rather small, and longitudinal studies distinguishing between within-and between-person effects find considerable between-person variance (e.g., Bamberg, Dettmers, Funck, Krähe, & Vahle-Hinz, 2012;Derks, Mierlo, & Schmitz, 2014;Dettmers, Vahle-Hinz et al., 2016). It can be assumed that individual strategies and specific boundary conditions surrounding extended work availability moderate its negative impact on wellbeing (Pangert & Schüpbach, 2013). ...
... Furthermore, because of the cross-sectional study design, we cannot draw conclusions about causality; rather, we report the presence of correlations between specific availability characteristics and well-being. Nevertheless, previous studies (Bamberg et al., 2012; have provided evidence of the effects of extended work availability on wellbeing variables using quasi-experimental designs. In addition, Dettmers (2017) found indications of causal relationships in a longitudinal study. ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose Studies have shown that availability for work during non-work hours can impair well-being. However, there are significant inter-individual differences regarding these effects. Referring to the “effort–reward–imbalance” model and the “stress-as-offense-to-self” model, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role that perceived advantages as well as the illegitimacy of extended availability plays in explaining the inter-individual differences. Design/methodology/approach A total of 310 participants completed an online questionnaire that measured extended availability, illegitimacy of extended availability, advantages of availability and two strain indicators. The authors conducted regression analyses to analyze the effects of extended availability on strain and the moderating role of perceived illegitimacy and advantages of extended availability. Findings Extended availability and – beyond this effect – perceived illegitimacy of extended availability were positively correlated with strain, whereas perceived advantages showed the opposite effect. Furthermore, perceived advantages had a moderating effect in that high advantages buffered the detrimental effects of extended availability. Research limitations/implications The results are based on cross-sectional data. However, the findings confirm previous research indicating that the detrimental effects of extended availability are dependent on specific boundary conditions. In this study, the authors provided evidence for the moderating effect of perceived advantages regarding extended availability. Practical implications The results provided indications to designing availability in a risk-reducing way by accounting for boundary conditions that may increase or decrease the detrimental effects. Originality/value By focusing on perceived illegitimacy and flexibility advantages as boundary conditions for the effects of extended availability, the study introduces two established concepts into the research on increasingly flexible work–home boundaries.
... Periods of time spent on-call but where individuals are not working are considered by many organisations and legal policy as "time off". However, it appears that being on-call, even when no calls occur, can have implications for workers' anxiety and sleep (Bamberg, Dettmers, Funck, Krähe, & Vahle-Hinz, 2012;Ferguson et al., 2016;Hall et al., 2016). Specifically, it has been demonstrated that during on-call periods, anxiety may be heightened (Cebola, 2014;Nicol & Botterill, 2004;Sprajcer et al., 2017) and increased anxiety may result in poorer sleep outcomes for on-call workers (Nicol & Botterill, 2004;Torsvall, Åkerstedt, & Froberg, 1987). ...
... Anecdotally, on-call workers report feelings of anxiety related to the potential of missing their alarm (or phone call, or page) (Bamberg et al., 2012;. For example, on-call firefighters reported anxiety surrounding the possibility that their pager may not go off because of a technical issue or similar . ...
Article
This study investigated how the likelihood of missing an alarm affects pre-bed anxiety, sleep and next day cognitive performance during on-call shifts. Participants (n = 24) completed one adaptation night, one control night and two on-call nights in a time-isolated sleep laboratory. On one of the on-call nights, participants were informed that they would be woken by a loud alarm that they would definitely not be able to sleep through (low likelihood of missing the alarm). On the other on-call night, participants were informed that they would be woken by a quiet alarm that they may sleep through (high likelihood of missing the alarm). The two on-call nights were counterbalanced. Pre-bed anxiety was measured using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory x-1, while sleep macro- and micro-architecture was examined via routine polysomnography and power spectral analyses respectively. Following each sleep, cognitive performance was assessed four times (0930, 1200, 1430, 1700) using the 10-min psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). Results indicated that while pre-bed anxiety was similarly increased during both high and low likelihood of missing the on-call alarm conditions compared with control, only in the high likelihood condition was total sleep time shorter and sleep efficiency lower compared with the control condition. However, more wake after sleep onset was found in the low likelihood condition compared with control. PVT data indicate that response times (mean reciprocal and mean fastest 10% of reaction time) were fastest in the low likelihood condition, indicating better performance when compared with both other conditions. However, there were significantly more lapses in the low likelihood condition compared with control. No significant EEG power spectral differences were observed. As such, it appears that there are detrimental effects of both on-call conditions on anxiety, sleep and performance, with sleep poorest when the likelihood of missing the alarm is high. The adverse impacts on sleep and performance outcomes while on-call may be mitigated by the implementation of workplace systems to reduce the likelihood of missing alarms (e.g., having two available options for contacting on-call workers).
... However, to ensure the comprehensiveness of this meta-analysis, we included studies dealing with supplemental work as part of supplemental analyses. TASW further differs from extended availability requirements, such as on-call work (Bamberg et al., 2012) or organizational expectations to be available after-hours (Dettmers et al., 2016). Whereas these constructs represent an experience and must not necessarily result in action (e.g., because employees are not contacted), TASW clearly entails an actual behavior (i.e., the performance of work-related tasks after regular work hours). ...
Article
Full-text available
Due to the increasing digitalization and connectivity of work, more and more employees engage in technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW). TASW refers to the performance of work-related tasks after regular work hours with the aid of technological tools. Based on a conceptual model of TASW, we present a comprehensive meta-analysis of potential antecedents and outcomes of TASW (K = 89 independent samples, N = 39,085 employees). Results showed that TASW is associated with social normative work context characteristics, such as availability expectations after work (ρ = 0.45), and work characteristics, such as job demands (ρ = 0.32). Associations were also found between TASW and person characteristics, such as work identity (ρ = 0.35) and segmentation preference (ρ = −0.20). Moreover, TASW is related to important employee outcomes, including recovery-related outcomes, such as psychological detachment (ρ = −0.38); well-being outcomes, such as job strain (ρ = 0.12); nonwork-related outcomes, such as work nonwork conflict (ρ = 0.32); as well as attitudinal and performance-related outcomes, such as organizational commitment (ρ = 0.16) and work performance (ρ = 0.27). We also found TASW to be related to certain demographic characteristics, such as male gender (ρ = 0.11) and job-level (ρ = 0.23). Exploratory moderator analyses further revealed that gender moderated the relationship between job demands and TASW, such that the relationship was weaker for samples with a higher percentage of females. We conclude by discussing potential directions for future research to advance the understanding of TASW.
... Active on-call duty and a combination of active and passive on-call duties were associated with a higher likelihood of poor QOL in the general and physical domains. It was not surprising that on-call duty was one of the most stressful components in doctors' work life as it consists of an element of uncertainty, longer working hours and interruptions to family and social life (28). Studies have also shown that long working hours were associated with poor QOL (29), higher stress levels, higher risk of injury at work, lower cognitive function and poorer physical health (30). ...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Medical officers (MOs) face multiple sources of work-related stress, including work system transition, job insecurity, dissatisfaction with income and intense working environments. This study aimed to examine the quality of life (QOL), effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and their association among MOs working in government hospitals in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among MOs from Sarawak General Hospital and Hospital Sentosa from May 2018 to March 2020. A total of 614 participants were selected through convenient sampling. An email with a link to three sets of questionnaires via Google forms including a questionnaire on sociodemographic data and job characteristics, the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) (Malay version) and the effort-reward imbalance (ERI-Q) (long version) was sent to potential participants. A total of 276 MOs completed and returned the questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive, simple and multiple logistic regression analysis. A P-value of less than 0.05 was taken as a statistically significant result. Results: Most MOs reported no adversity in the workplace (i.e. 29% low effort/high reward, 5.1% high effort/high reward, 6.2% low effort/low reward and 23.6% high effort/low reward). More than half of MOs (54%) reported poor general QOL and were associated with a combination of active and passive on-calls (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 5.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21, 23.79). Poor QOL in the physical domain was associated with the presence of chronic illness (AOR = 23.35; 95% CI: 4.25, 128.45), active on-calls (AOR = 14.75; 95% CI: 1.16, 188.35) and a combination of active and passive on-calls (AOR = 18.25; 95% CI: 1.39, 238.98). Men had a higher risk of poor QOL in the environmental domain (AOR = 2.03; 95% CI: 1.04, 3.98). Only 23.6% of MOs reported psychosocial adversity at work (high effort/low reward). High effort/low reward was associated with poor QOL in general (AOR = 4.71; 95% CI: 1.71, 13.01), physical (AOR = 4.53; 95% CI: 2.02, 10.17), psychological (AOR = 5.95; 95% CI: 2.82, 12.58) and environmental domains (AOR = 4.21; 95% CI: 1.95, 9.08). Low effort/high reward was found to have a lower likelihood of poor QOL in the social domain (AOR = 0.13; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.44). Conclusion: Higher ERI was found to be associated with poor QOL among MOs in government hospitals. Future research should focus on interventions to improve working conditions.
... First, the flexibility of the work needs to be employee-centric (Avgoustaki & Bessa, 2019), that is, it has to leave it up to the employees to choose whether they want to use flexible work arrangements offered by the employer. Thus, demanded flexibility by the employer (e.g., being "on-call"; Bamberg et al., 2012) or working from home without being able to choose (e.g., because of pandemicinduced office closing) is unlikely to have beneficial effects for the employees. Second, the supply of the flexible work arrangement needs to fit the preferences of the employee. ...
Article
Full-text available
Ensuring employee well‐being is a crucial task for organizations. While previous research has mainly focused on positive effects of intrinsic motivation, in this study, we took a more comprehensive view on intrinsic motivation and work‐related well‐being. More specifically, building on conservation of resources theory, we focused on two facets of work‐related well‐being (job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion) and examined direct (beneficial) and indirect (adverse) effects on well‐being via detachment as an inconsistent mediation model. Furthermore, we took a closer look at how the use of flex place practices (FPPs), giving employees the opportunity to choose from where to work, can attenuate potential adverse effects of high intrinsic motivation. We collected data from 408 employees of a European manufacturer at two points of measurement, the first one before and the second one after the introduction of FPPs. Results showed that intrinsic motivation had a positive direct effect on changes in well‐being, and an adverse indirect effect on changes in well‐being via reduced detachment. For employees using FPPs, this adverse indirect effect was dissolved. This research is among the first to explore potential downsides of intrinsic motivation and the role of FPPs in the functioning of intrinsic motivation.
... In Emeryville, instances of work schedule un predictability on any given day were related to worse daily mood and sleep quality for working parents . Similarly, research shows that on days when parents are on call for work hours, they report increased daily negative mood (Bamberg et al. 2012, Dettmers et al. 2016) and worse daily sleep quality (Härmä et al. 2018;Sprajcer et al. 2018) than days when they are not on call. ...
Article
Full-text available
Emeryville, California’s Fair Workweek Ordinance (FWO) aimed to reduce service workers’ schedule unpredictability by requiring large retail and food service employers to provide advanced notice of schedules and to compensate workers for last-minute schedule changes. From ninety-six workers with young children (N = 78 in longitudinal analyses; 58 percent working in regulated businesses at baseline), this study gathered daily reports of work schedule unpredictability and worker and family well-being over three waves before and after FWO implementation. The FWO decreased working parents’ schedule unpredictability and improved their well-being relative to those in similar jobs at unregulated establishments. The FWO also decreased parents’ days worked while increasing hours per work day, leaving total hours roughly unchanged. Finally, parent well-being improved and declines in sleep difficulty were significant.
... Literature suggests physicians experience similar challenges with on-call work, reporting higher levels of work-related stress and anxiety, distress, sleep problems and health problems (Heponiemi et al., 2015). Work interference with home life has been frequently researched in recent years, with findings suggesting an association between on-call work and reductions in family time and social activities (Bamberg et al., 2012;Heponiemi et al., 2015;Ziebertz et al., 2015). In their Finnish study, Heponiemi et al. (2014) found that work interference with family time was a significant factor in on-call physicians' stress and job dissatisfaction. ...
Article
Full-text available
Social workers who are based in hospitals regularly participate in on-call services whereby they respond to crisis or emergency presentations outside of usual working hours. A social work research team across four metropolitan hospitals in a Local Heath District in Sydney, Australia, investigated the experience of participating in an on-call service and the impact this had on the wellbeing of the social workers involved. By utilising a Participatory Action Research methodology that included in-depth interviews and reflective co-analysis, the findings showed evidence of risk for on-call social workers, as well as two key protective factors that mitigate the anxiety associated with night time and crisis work. These factors are preparation for participation in an on-call service, and timely and effective support whilst working outside of normal working hours. This research offers suggested strategies for translation into other hospital social work departments who undertake on-call services.
... Furthermore, the sole anticipation of availability may keep functional systems activated: Studies on on-call work (e.g. Bamberg et al., 2012) found that the mere possibility of being called was associated with impaired well-being regardless of whether employees were actually contacted. In the long run, the sustained activation can then result in exhaustion (Demerouti et al., 2010) and chronic or even irreversible impairments of health (Geurts & Sonnentag, 2006). ...
Article
Full-text available
Employees who remain available for work outside regular work hours often experience strain and work–home conflicts. This study clusters employees in distinct availability types based on different aspects of unregulated extended work ability, which are contacting frequency, availability expectations and perceived legitimacy of availability. Moreover, we examined covariates of class membership and relationships with employees’ well-being. We used data from 17,410 employees who took part in a representative survey of the German working population. Latent class analysis with double cross-validation revealed three availability types. Satisfaction with work–life balance was higher and internal work–home interference was lower in the “rarely available”-class than in the “legitimate available”-class and the “illegitimate available”-class. Members of the “illegitimate available”-class reported worse subjective health, more psychovegetative health complaints, and higher levels of exhaustion than members of the “legitimate available”-class and the “rarely available”-class. Several socio-demographic variables, job characteristics, and factors associated with boundary management predicted class membership. Overall, the study highlights the risks for employees’ well-being associated with unregulated extended work availability – particularly when it is perceived as illegitimate – and points towards implications on the individual, organisational, and political level that may help reduce and better manage extended work ability.
... 11 Other aspects of non-standard work schedules including precarious or unpredictable employment, flexible work, on call or standby conditions, long work hours and overtime are also associated with poorer sleep and reduced wellbeing. 12,13 Shift work disorder (SWD) is a clinical sleep disorder associated with non-standard work schedules that overlap with the usual time for sleep, the "biological night". 14 Most SWD research has focused on workers engaged in rotating and/or night shifts, meaning other non-standard work schedules (e.g. ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose We aimed to estimate the prevalence of probable shift work disorder (pSWD) in a representative sample of Australian workers and identify sleep, health and safety correlates. Patients and Methods In 2019, data were collected from working respondents as part of a cross-sectional national sleep health survey conducted online (n=964 total; n=448 individuals on non-standard work schedules). We established the prevalence of pSWD according to International Classification of Sleep Disorders criteria (ICSD-R, ICSD-2 and ICSD-3). Poisson regression was used to determine crude and adjusted prevalence association (prevalence ratio, PR) of pSWD with sleep, health and safety outcomes. Results Overall prevalence of pSWD in workers on non-standard work schedules was 10.5%, ranging from 9.6% in early morning workers to 12.7% in rotating shift workers. In adjusted models, workers who met the criteria for pSWD were 1.8 times more likely to report both depression/bipolar disorder, and anxiety/panic disorder, and 1.7 times more likely to report work errors due to a sleep problem. Conclusion The prevalence of pSWD in employees engaged in non-standard work schedules is influenced by selection of factors used to quantify pSWD, including sleep/wake patterns. Higher likelihoods of mental health problems and workplace errors in those with pSWD highlight the importance of intervention and management of this under-recognised sleep disorder.
... The third mechanism describes a constant technological connectivity to work, which constitutes a behavioral explanation for difficulties detaching from work in the evening. There are various reasons for staying technologically connected to work during nonwork times, for instance, fear of missing out on something important, pure availability of devices, organizational pressure to stay connected, job-related uncertainty, flexible work arrangements or simply the need to complete important tasks (Bamberg et al., 2012;Dettmers et al, 2016;Van Laethem et al., 2018). Third-variable explanations related to both, high work-related stressors and low detachment, negative organizational climate (e.g. ...
Article
Full-text available
Many workers experience their jobs as effortful or even stressful, which can result in strain. Although recovery from work would be an adaptive strategy to prevent the adverse effects of work-related strain, many workers face problems finding enough time to rest and to mentally disconnect from work during nonwork time. What goes on in workers’ minds after a stressful workday? What is it about their jobs that makes them think about their work? This special issue aims to bridge the gap between research on recovery processes mainly examined in Occupational Health Psychology, and research on work stress and working hours, often investigated in the field of Human Resource Management. We first summarize conceptual and theoretical streams from both fields of research. In the following, we discuss the contributions of the five special issue papers and conclude with key messages and directions for further research.
... Physicians´ on-call work has been associated with higher levels of sleeping problems and work-family interference (Heponiemi et al. 2014). In the IT sector, impairments of well-being and less engagement in leisure time activities were found among employees with on-call work, regardless of whether employees were actually contacted during the on-call period or not (Bamberg et al. 2012). Moreover, a review by Nicol and Botterill (2004) found that on-call work was associated with poorer mental health and increased sleep disturbances. ...
Article
Full-text available
Health care professionals often face irregular working hours and high work pace. We studied associations of the five working time dimensions duration (weekly working hours), timing (shift work and weekend work), on-call work, working time autonomy, and work tempo (deadline and performance pressure) with well-being among health care employees in Finland and Germany. We used data on working time dimensions and indicators of well-being (work-life conflict, poor perceived health, sleep difficulties, and fatigue) from a cohort of 5050 hospital employees (Working Hours in the Finnish Public Sector Study 2015, WHFPS) and 1450 employees in the health care sector in Germany responding to the German BAuA-Working Time Survey in 2015 (BAuA-WTS). Findings from logistic regression analyses showed that high work tempo was associated with increased work-life conflict (WHFPS: odds ratio [OR] = 3.64, 95%CI 3.04–4.36 and BAuA-WTS: OR = 2.29, 95%CI 1.60–3.27), sleep difficulties (OR = 1.75, 95%CI 1.43–2.15 and OR = 1.33, 95%CI 1.03–1.71) and fatigue (OR = 2.13, 95%CI 1.77–2.57 and OR = 1.64, 95%CI 1.29–2.10) in both datasets. Weekend work was associated with increased work-life conflict (OR = 1.48, 95%CI 1.27–1.72 and OR = 1.61, 95%CI 1.12–2.32); and high working time autonomy with decreased work-life conflict (control over the timing of breaks: OR = 0.65, 95%CI 0.55–0.78 and OR = 0.52, 95%CI 0.33–0.81). The associations between other working time dimensions and well-being were less consistent. These results suggest that tight deadlines, performance pressure, weekend work and lack of working time autonomy are linked to impaired well-being among health care employees.
... Thus far, however, research following this type of daily diary design has not been used to examine low-wage workers' schedule unpredictability or the daily consequences of that unpredictability. Research on related topics that does use this method, however, has shown that increased nighttime work causes increases in workers' daily negative mood (Gassman-Pines, 2011), as does being "on-call" for work hours (Bamberg, Dettmers, Funck, Krähe, & Vahle-Hinz, 2012;Dettmers, Vahle-Hinz, Bamberg, Friedrich, & Keller, 2016). Both nighttime work hours and being "on-call" also lead to worse daily sleep quality (Härmä et al., 2018;Sprajcer et al., 2018). ...
Article
Objective To investigate the pervasiveness and frequency of work schedule unpredictability among workers in low‐wage hourly jobs and the effects of work schedule unpredictability on worker and family well‐being. Background Family science has long considered the ways in which parents' experiences in the workplace can affect families. Although unpredictability in work schedules has increased over time, especially for low‐wage workers, the effects of schedule unpredictability on worker and family well‐being have been understudied. Method Ninety‐two workers with children aged 2–7, recruited using a new venue‐time sampling technique, were asked to complete once‐a‐day surveys for 30 consecutive days (N = 2,221 person‐days for analysis). Descriptive analyses and regression models with family fixed effects were utilized. Results Work schedule unpredictability was common in the context of families' lives: over the 30 days, parents experienced an unanticipated work schedule change on 13.3% of days, and 87% of parents experienced at least one unanticipated work schedule change. Within families, unpredictable work schedule changes on a given day were associated with worse outcomes that day for parents, including increased negative mood and decreased perceived sleep quality. Conclusion Work schedule unpredictability is ubiquitous in the lives of low‐wage hourly workers and is negatively related to working parents' well‐being. Implications These results provide evidence that unscheduled and canceled shifts typical of low‐wage service jobs may harm parents' well‐being, which could ultimately affect their children's development and well‐being.
... On the one hand, for various phenomena, e.g., taking work at home or the work-related ICT-use outside regular working hours, research established effects on experiencing higher work-home conflicts, impaired recovery and higher stress reactions (e.g., Derks & Bakker, 2014;Voydanoff, 2005). For on-call work, recoveryreducing effects could be identified that did not only result from additional work but from the mere expectation of a possible call (Bamberg, Dettmers, Funck, Krähe & Vahle-Hinz, 2012). ...
Article
Full-text available
A large body of literature has detected fundamental changes in the world of work. In this context, “flexibilization” functions as an umbrella term for processes and managerial strategies imposing new demands and requirements on employees. Examples are atypical employment arrangements, increased requirements for self-organization, and boundaryless work. Simultaneously, flexibility can be a positive resource for workers, offering increased working time autonomy and task-related control opportunities. This Janus-faced character of flexibility is reflected in ambiguous empirical results concerning its impact on employee health and well-being. Reviewing the interdisciplinary literature including a series of own empirical studies, flexibilization in post-tayloristic societies is interpreted in terms of subjectified work intensification, work extensification, and shifting uncertainties from management to employees. A domain-integrating life-conduct perspective for psychological research in this “new” flexible, individualized, and subjectified world of work is suggested. The proposed framework may help to understand ambiguous results concerning the impact of diverse aspects of workplace flexibility on employee well-being. It may also be useful to empirically disentangle potentially health-supportive dimensions from negative implications.
... Dort, wo die Arbeitszeitautonomie durch überbordende Aufgaben und Anforderungen beschränkt ist, kann nämlich die Möglichkeit zur Autonomie per se noch keine Souveränität über die eigene Arbeits-und Lebenszeit entfalten (Rose 2014). Wenn die Flexibilität Unvorhersehbarkeit, hohe Arbeitsanforderungen, lange Arbeitszeiten und Abgrenzungsprobleme mit sich bringt, wirkt sich das sogar negativ auf die Work-Life-Balance und die Gesundheit der Beschäftigten aus (Bamberg et al. 2012;Vahle-Hinz und Bamberg 2009). Dieser ambivalente Charakter von flexiblen Arbeitszeiten zeigt sich in verschiedenen Studien (Chung 2009;Costa et al. 2006;Eurofound, 2012;Kattenbach et al. 2010). ...
Article
Full-text available
In der wissenschaftlichen Literatur finden sich zunehmend Befunde darüber, dass Unternehmen verstärkt auf indirekte Steuerung der Arbeitsorganisation setzen, was mitunter Selbststeuerung von Arbeitszeiten umfasst. Die Beschäftigten erlangen dadurch einerseits mehr Autonomie, anderseits kommt es zu neuen Belastungen wie Entgrenzung oder Überforderung. Eine gesundheitlich problematische Ausdehnung der Arbeitszeit kann die Folge sein. In diesem Beitrag untersuchen wir den Zusammenhang zwischen Arbeitszeiterfassung und Länge der Arbeitszeit bei autonomer Arbeitszeitorganisation. Zur Beantwortung der Frage führen wir mit Daten der amtlichen Statistik aus Österreich aus dem Jahr 2015 eine Regression auf die Länge der normalen Arbeitszeit von unselbständig Vollzeitbeschäftigten durch (n = 6436). Es zeigt sich, dass Arbeitszeiten vor allem bei hochgradig selbstgesteuerten Arbeitszeiten, wenn keine Zeiterfassung erfolgt, besonders lange sind.
... In der modernen Gesellschaft geht die Entwicklung immer mehr in Richtung ständige Erreichbarkeit, Flexibilität und Mobilität [35], weshalb davon auszugehen ist, dass ständige Erreichbarkeit ein beitragendes Element für höhere Punktzahlen in der IS und somit höheren Beanspruchungsfolgen war. Viele Abläufe müssen zeitlich, örtlich und situativ an die ständige Erreichbarkeit angepasst werden [34] und bereits die Perspektive kontaktiert zu werden, führt zu einem Anstieg von Reizbarkeit, Verringerung sozialer sowie häuslicher Aktivitäten und Verschlechterung der Stimmung [36]. Auf diese Weise kann nachts der Schlaf quantitativ und qualitativ beeinträchtigt werden [34,37]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Zusammenfassung Einleitung Psychische Belastungen am Arbeitsplatz bergen ein hohes Gefährdungspotenzial für Gesundheit und Lebensqualität. Das Ziel dieser Studie war, die Zusammenhänge zwischen Beanspruchungsfolgen psychischer Belastung und subjektiver Schlafqualität sowie individueller Tagesschläfrigkeit zu untersuchen. Methoden Es wurde eine Querschnittsuntersuchung an 84 einbezogenen Probanden durchgeführt. Arbeitsbezogene Beanspruchungsfolgen wurden mit den 3 Skalen Kognitive Irritation (KI), Emotionale Irritation (EI) und Gesamtindex (GI) der Irritations-Skala zur Erfassung arbeitsbezogener Beanspruchungsfolgen (IS), Schlafqualität mit dem Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) und Tagesschläfrigkeit mit der Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) evaluiert. Ergebnisse Hinsichtlich der erfassten soziodemografischen und medizinischen Daten unterschieden sich die Probanden mit guter nicht von den Probanden mit schlechter Schlafqualität. In allen 3 Skalen der IS und in der ESS erreichten die schlechten Schläfer ungünstig höhere Werte als die guten Schläfer, wobei der Unterschied in Bezug auf die ESS nicht signifikant war. Höhere Punktzahlen in allen 3 Skalen der IS korrelierten mit höheren Werten im PSQI, jedoch lediglich höhere Punktzahlen in der EI aus der IS auch mit höheren Punktzahlen in der ESS. Diskussion Arbeitsbezogene Beanspruchungsfolgen und subjektive Schlafqualität stehen in einer Wechselbeziehung, der in der heutigen Arbeitswelt eine wichtige Bedeutung zukommt. Wichtige Gesichtspunkte sind hierbei berufliche Unsicherheit und ständige Erreichbarkeit.
... The implications of the findings regarding leisure time, particularly for women, should be considered in the context of recovery and mental detachment from work. It is known that being unable to separate work from domestic life can impact the ability to relax and may contribute to poor well-being [27,28]. Additionally, being unable to engage in leisure activities (separate from work and domestic) may have a similar effect. ...
Article
Full-text available
On-call work is prevalent worldwide and is associated with adverse outcomes, including disrupted sleep, impaired leisure time, and difficulties in mentally detaching from work. Limited studies specifically explored whether men and women experience on-call differently; therefore, our aim was to investigate whether sex differences exist in terms of both the impacts of and coping strategies to deal with on-call work. On-call workers (n = 228) participated in an online survey to investigate how on-call work impacts domestic, non-domestic, and leisure activities, and coping strategies. Pearson chi-squared analyses were used to determine sex differences for each construct of interest. Results indicated that female respondents were more likely to be responsible for running their household, and reported that being on call disturbed leisure, domestic, and non-domestic activities “a lot/very much”. While both males and females adopted engaged coping styles, a greater proportion of males used “problem solving” and a greater proportion of females “talked about their feelings” when managing on-call work. These findings provide valuable insight into how males and females are differentially impacted and cope with on-call work. Further research is required to better understand these impacts, particularly over time, and should include measures such as of quality of life, relationship satisfaction, and physical and mental health outcomes.
... One form is on-call work, which ensures that an individual can be available at short notice. For employers and the clients, on-call work may be beneficial because it provides 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 52 weeks of non-stop service(Bamberg, Dettmers, Funck, Krähe, & Vahle-Hinz, 2012). ...
Thesis
Although work-life balance programs have become increasingly popular through the years, there is still a need to identify the contributions of these work-life balancing programs on employee performance. The purpose of this case study was to explore the work-life balance programs that SC PLC utilize to improve employee performance. The job demands-resources model formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through structured questionnaires using the random sampling method. Data collection also included organizational performance track indicator documents on employee quality, self-directed, active participation and involvement, positive attitude, punctuality and target achievement on WLB programs, and current WLB programs and policies guidelines. These themes included work-life balance programs effectiveness, the importance of a supportive work environment, employee commitment and motivation, employee job satisfaction and organizational culture. According to the study results, work-life balance programs could help improve organizational culture and employee overall performance. The results of this study may contribute to social change by preparing employers for success while simultaneously positioning individuals to attain optimum balance between work and life responsibilities.
Article
Background In-house calls contribute to loss of sleep and surgeon burnout. While acknowledged to have an opportunity cost, home call is often considered less onerous, with minimal effects on sleep and burnout. We hypothesized home call would result in impaired sleep and increased burnout in acute care surgeons (ACS). Study Design Data from 224 ACS were collected over six months. Participants wore a physiological tracking device and responded to daily surveys. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was administered at the beginning and end of the study. Within-participant analyses were conducted to compare sleep, feelings of restedness, and burnout as a function of home call. Results 171 surgeons took 3,313 home calls, 52.5% were associated with getting called and 38.5% resulted in a return to the hospital. Home call without calls was associated with 3 minutes of sleep loss ( p< .01), home call with ≥1 call resulted in a further 14 minutes of sleep loss ( p< .0001), and home call with a return to the hospital led to an additional 70 minutes of sleep loss ( p< .0001). All variations of home call resulted in decreased feelings of restedness ( p ’s<.0001) and increased feelings of daily burnout ( p ’s<.0001; Figure 1). Conclusion Home call is deleterious to sleep and burnout. Even home call without calls or returns to the hospital is associated with burnout. Internal assessments locally should incorporate frequency of calls and returns to the hospital when creating call schedules. Repeated nights of home call can result in cumulative sleep debt, with adverse effects on health and well-being.
Chapter
Die Gestaltung der Arbeitszeit wirkt über verschiedene Mechanismen kurz- und langfristig auf die Gesundheit, Work-Life-Balance und Leistung von Beschäftigten. Diese Wirkmechanismen, nämlich verlängerte Belastungsexposition, Desynchronisation der inneren Uhr, verkürzte oder ungünstige Zeiten für Erholung sowie verkürzte oder ungünstige Zeiten für familiäre und andere Aktivitäten, werden zunächst vorgestellt. Anschließend werden bedingungsbezogene Interventionsansätze zur Länge, Lage und Flexibilität der Arbeitszeit dargelegt, die den aktuellen Stand der arbeitswissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse widerspiegeln.
Article
Work-related extended availability (WREA; the availability of employees for work-related matters in their leisure time) seems to be associated with decreases in well-being and life-domain balance, but to date there is no quantitative synthesis of the scattered evidence. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis (113 articles with 121 studies relying on k = 117 independent samples with N = 131,872) on the associations between WREA and employee outcomes while examining potential moderators as well as differences between availability demands and behaviors. WREA was adversely associated with recuperation, well-being and private life, but favorably with some work-related criteria. There were no systematic differences in effect sizes between availability demands and behaviors; however, segmentation preferences were a moderator. Overall, these results suggest that WREA may pose a threat to employee recuperation, well-being and private lives, especially when employees prefer separating work and private life. However, positive potentials of WREA should not be overlooked. Work-related extended availability (WREA) refers to the availability of employees for work-related matters in their leisure time. Studies have shown that WREA may go along with primarily negative consequences for employees, but to date, there is no comprehensive overview of the literature statistically summarizing the current state of research, which was done in the study at hand. We assumed that WREA be related to problems with recovery, poorer well-being and difficulties to find a balance between work and private life. We also assessed in how far WREA goes along with attitudes towards work, absence from work and the intention to change jobs. Moreover, we considered differences between demands to be available and behaviors of actually taking care of work-related matters during leisure time. Finally, we investigated factors that may be associated with stronger consequences of WREA. We included 113 scientific papers with a total of 131,872 participants. WREA was related to problems with recovery, poorer well-being and difficulties to find a balance between work and private life, but also to more positive attitudes towards work. We did not find systematic differences between demands to be available and availability behaviors. However, we found that the relationship between WREA and work creating conflict with family life were stronger in samples with higher preferences to segment work and private life. Our findings suggest that WREA may pose a threat to employee recuperation, well-being and private lives, especially when employees prefer separating life domains. Still, positive potentials of WREA should not be overlooked.
Chapter
Digitalisierung und Industrie 4.0 sind populäre Themen mit einer langen Tradition, denn seit Jahrzehnten wird die Diskussion zu Technikentwicklung als wesentlicher Teil der Entwicklung der Arbeitsgesellschaft geführt. Viele Erkenntnisse, die in diesem Zusammenhang erarbeitet wurden, sind für die aktuelle Auseinandersetzung über die Folgen von Digitalisierung und Industrie 4.0 von Bedeutung. Die Implikationen, die Digitalisierung für die Arbeitsorganisation, die Arbeitsverhältnisse, die Arbeitsbedingungen, die Balance zwischen verschiedenen Lebensbereichen hat, sind maßgeblich für die Gesundheit der Arbeitenden. Gesundheitsförderung und die Gestaltung guter Arbeit im Zeitalter der Digitalisierung bauen auf diesen Erkenntnissen auf und erweitern sie.
Book
Full-text available
Working in the military has special demands, including 24/7 high performance and flexibility. Commitment to work is high and work is perceived as meaningful, but there are many stressors associated with work. This literature review examines research on peacetime working hours and well-being of officers. Little information was found on the officers´ actual working hours. Self-reported working hours are long, particularly in the United States. There is broadly consistent evidence of sleep deficits among officers in different working contexts. Experiencing severe sleepiness during shifts/flights is also common. There is little research on psychological recovery. The incidence of work stress varies widely between studies. There are particular challenges in balancing work and personal life. Mental health problems and burn out appear to be more common than in the general population. More research data is needed, especially on actual working hours and their association to sleep disorders, recovery and the identification of mental overload. [scoping review in Finnish]
Article
Full-text available
Background On-call research and guidance materials typically focus on ‘traditional’ on-call work (e.g., emergency services, healthcare). However, given the increasing prevalence of non-standard employment arrangements (e.g., gig work and casualisation), it is likely that a proportion of individuals who describe themselves as being on-call are not included in current on-call literature. This study therefore aimed to describe the current sociodemographic and work characteristics of Australian on-call workers. Methods A survey of 2044 adults assessed sociodemographic and work arrangements. Of this population, 1057 individuals were workforce participants, who were asked to provide information regarding any on-call work they performed over the last three months, occupation type, weekly work hours, and the presence or absence of non-standard work conditions. Results Of respondents who were working, 45.5% reported working at least one day on-call in the previous month. There was a high prevalence of on-call work in younger respondents (63.1% of participants aged 18–24 years), and those who worked multiple jobs and more weekly work hours. Additionally, high prevalence rates of on-call work were reported by machinery operators, drivers, community and personal service workers, sales workers, and high-level managers. Conclusions These data suggest that on-call work is more prevalent than previously recorded and is likely to refer to a broad set of employment arrangements. Current classification systems may therefore be inadequate for population-level research. A taxonomy for the classification of on-call work is proposed, incorporating traditional on-call work, gig economy work, relief, or unscheduled work, and out of hours work.
Article
This study examined how objective measures of sleep change across shift-cycles, and the impact of this on sleep quality and fatigue. Forty maritime pilots were recruited from Australian ports. Sleep wake-behaviour (timing and length), and self-reported sleep quality and fatigue, were assessed to determine any impact of roster status and ‘on-call’ status. On-roster pilots experienced reduced night time sleep duration compared to those off-roster (57 ± 8.8 mins), while working on-call also diminished night time sleep duration (126 ± 11.3 mins) and quality, compared to workers not on-call. Fatigue scores indicated that participants were not fully recovered prior to commencing rostered night shift, while sleep quality was significantly worse following sleep that occurred after a night shift, compared to after a day shift. These findings potentially support workplace negotiations to change future shift cycles, and to adopt monitoring systems may mitigate the risk of fatigue-related accidents and chronic health outcomes. Practitioner Summary: Long and irregular work hours of maritime pilotage can compromise worker performance and safety. This observational study found that on-roster pilots experience reduced sleep duration compared to those off-roster, while working on-call further diminishes sleep duration and quality. Future workload/fatigue monitoring systems may mitigate fatigue-related accidents and adverse chronic health outcomes.
Article
Full-text available
Research has indicated that individuals with certain traits may be better suited to shiftwork and non-standard working arrangements. However, no research has investigated how individual differences impact on-call outcomes. As such, this study investigated the impact of trait anxiety on sleep and performance outcomes on-call. Seventy male participants (20-35 years) completed an adaptation night, a control night, and two on-call nights in a laboratory. Trait anxiety was determined using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) X-2, and participants completed the STAI X-1 prior to bed each night to assess state anxiety. Sleep was measured using polysomnography and quantitative electroencephalographic analysis. Performance was assessed using a 10-min psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) performed each day at 0930, 1200, 1430 and 1700 h. Data pooled from three separate but interrelated studies was used for these analyses. Results indicated that the effects of trait anxiety on state anxiety, sleep and performance outcomes on-call were generally limited. These findings suggest that on-call outcomes are not negatively affected by higher levels of trait anxiety.
Chapter
Die menschengerechte Gestaltung der Arbeitszeit ist bedeutsam für unterschiedliche Faktoren wie die Zufriedenheit und Gesundheit von Beschäftigten und damit auch essenziell für die Leistungsfähigkeit von Unternehmen. Als menschengerecht können hierbei Arbeitszeiten erachtet werden, die gesundheits- und erholungsgerecht, vereinbarkeitsgerecht, alterns- und teilhabegerecht sowie aufgabengerecht gestaltet sind und angemessen kompensiert und ausgeglichen werden. Sie schützen die Gesundheit und das Wohlbefinden von Beschäftigten, ermöglichen eine gute Balance zwischen Arbeit und Privatleben, erleichtern Beschäftigten die Teilhabe am Erwerbsleben, sind auf das Arbeitsvolumen abgestimmt und beinhalten angemessene Gegenleistungen. Mit Blick auf diese Kriterien wird der gegenwärtige Erkenntnisstand aus der arbeitswissenschaftlichen Forschung zur Länge, Lage und Flexibilität von Arbeitszeiten umrissen. Zudem wird entlang der Kriterien auf soziale Ungleichheiten hingewiesen, die auf eine nicht gerechte Verteilung von arbeitszeitlichen Belastungen und Ressourcen zurückzuführen sind. Schließlich werden betriebliche Ansätze und Stellschrauben für die Gestaltung von menschengerechten Arbeitszeiten skizziert. Mehrwerte von menschengerechten Arbeitszeiten ergeben sich dabei nicht nur für Beschäftigte, sondern auch aus unternehmerischer und gesellschaftlicher Sicht.
Book
Full-text available
A transition to a single-parent family is a drastic event in any person's life. In this PhD-dissertation, this transition is described in the Belgian context in a multifocal manner. We formulate key points to support in future transitions to single-parenthood. Therefore, this PhD-dissertation is presented as a trilogy, presenting the transition itself, the roles and functions of the single parents' network in the transition and the enhancements in the work-environment.
Article
Objective: On-call work is becoming increasingly common in response to service demands. This study had two aims; 1) describe the demographic profile of on-call workers in Australia, and 2) establish the impacts of on-call work on workers’ sleep. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire completed by Australian on-call workers (n = 228) from various professions. The questionnaire included items on i) demographic and work characteristics, ii) rumination about on-call factors, iii) sleep quantity and quality. Analyses were conducted using mixed effects ordinal regression and multivariable logistic regression. Results: Workers slept <7 hours per night when on-call (80%), and reported sleep was impacted on-call even when no-calls were received (56%). On-call workers rated interruptions to family/leisure time (70%), missing a call (69%), preplanning in case of a call (69%), and not able to make plans (67%) as the main factors they ruminated about. Female on-call workers were more likely to think about the likelihood of being called, report frequent thoughts about what they would need to do if called, and think about interruptions to family/leisure time as a result of a call. Younger workers were more likely to think about the likelihood of being called compared to older adults, however middle-aged workers were less likely to plan for a call compared to younger workers. Conclusions: This study is the first to describe Australia’s on-call population, including factors that specifically impact sleep. Future studies should implement tailored education and support strategies to address the unique challenges facing on-call workers.
Article
On-call workers are often on standby at night or on weekends and are called to perform work when unanticipated incidents occur. However, the effects of on-call duty on the mental health has received little attention. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of on-call work on mental health problems among Korean wage workers. Korean wage workers (56,553) from the 2011–2014 Korean Working Condition Survey were enrolled. The outcome measures included insomnia or sleep disorder and depression or anxiety disorder. General characteristics, occupational and work environment characteristics were used to adjust for control variables. Among the Korean wage workers, 8.2% (N=4,653) performed on-call duties. On-call workers were more likely to experience insomnia or sleep disturbance (3.8%vs2.4%; p<.0001) and depression or anxiety disorder (2.2%vs1.2%; p<.0001) than those who did not have on-call duties. After adjusting for control variables, the odds ratio (OR) for insomnia or sleep disturbance was 1.56 (95% CI, 1.23–1.99), and the OR for depression or anxiety disorder was 2.23 (95% CI, 1.61–3.08). In conclusion, on-call work was associated with mental health problems in Korean wage workers. Therefore, we need to understand the problems of on-call workers, and try to improve their health care.
Article
Working on-call with a night call resulted in a depressed (lower) cortisol awakening response (CAR) peak and post-awakening cortisol area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCG) the following day compared to when off-call. This may be due to exposure to noise, physical exertion, and stressful events during night callouts. There was no anticipatory effect to working on-call in any of the cortisol measures examined. This study, of male fire and emergency service workers who operate on-call from home, had two aims: (1) examine CAR and diurnal cortisol profile following a night on-call with a call, on-call without a call, and off-call; and, (2) explore whether there is an anticipatory effect of working on-call from home on diurnal cortisol profiles. Participants wore activity monitors, completed sleep and work diaries and collected seven saliva samples a day (0 min, 30 min, 60 min, 3 h, 6 h, 9 h, and 12 h after final awakening) for one week. CAR peak, reactivity and area under the curve with respect to increase (AUCI), post-awakening cortisol AUCG, diurnal cortisol slope and AUCG, and mean 12-h cortisol concentrations were calculated. The final analysis included 26 participants for Aim 1 (22 off-call nights, 68 nights on-call without a call, and 20 nights on-call with a call) and 14 participants for Aim 2 (25 days leading up to a night off-call and 92 days leading up to a night on-call). Generalized estimating equations models were constructed for each variable of interest. Aim 1: CAR peak and post-awakening cortisol AUCG were 8.2 ± 3.4 nmol/L and 5.7 ± 2.4 units lower, respectively, following a night on-call with a call compared to an off-call night. Aim 2: the day before a night on-call was not a significant predictor in any model. The lower CAR peak and post-awakening cortisol AUCG following a night on-call with a call compared to following an off-call night may be due to exposure to noise, physical exertion, and stressful events during night callouts. The lack of difference between the day before a night on-call and the day before an off-call night suggests there may not be an anticipatory effect on cortisol when on-call from home.
Article
Full-text available
What goes on in workers' minds after a stressful work day and what is it about their jobs that got them thinking like this? This Special Issue of the German Journal of Human Resource Management (GHRM) aims to bridge the gap between research on cognitive recovery processes (e.g., detachment, work reflection, rumination, problem-solving pondering) that were mainly examined in Occupational Health Psychology, and research on employee stress and working times (Blagoev et al., 2018) in the field of Human Resource Management.
Chapter
Ein Drittel der abhängig Beschäftigten wird bereits heute manchmal oder sogar häufig in der Freizeit zu Arbeitsbelangen kontaktiert – Tendenz steigend. Bei arbeitsbezogener erweiterter Erreichbarkeit passieren Kontaktanfragen die Grenze der Arbeitsdomäne und greifen auf einen anderen (privaten) Lebensbereich über. Dieses Phänomen war bislang kaum Gegenstand einer bewussten betrieblichen Gestaltung, obwohl sich empirisch deutliche Risiken für die (psychische) Gesundheit und die Life-Domain-Balance von Beschäftigten abzeichnen. Über positive Auswirkungen der Erreichbarkeit durch mehr Flexibilität hinsichtlich Arbeitszeit und Arbeitsort liegen noch wenige Erkenntnisse vor. In einem beteiligungsorientierten, kontinuierlichen Gestaltungsprozess zwischen Beschäftigten, Führungskräften und Kunden lassen sich die Potenziale der Erreichbarkeit ausbauen und deren Risiken vermindern.
Article
Full-text available
Demonstrating causal relationships has been of particular importance in organizational stress research. Longitudinal studies are typically suggested to overcome problems of reversed causation and third variables (e.g., social desirability and negative affectivity). This article reviews the empirical longitudinal literature and discusses designs and statistical methods used in these studies. Forty-three longitudinal field reports on organizational stress were identified. Most of the investigations used a 2-wave panel design and a hierarchical multiple regression approach. Six studies with 3 and more waves were found. About 50% of the studies analyzed potential strain-stressor (reversed causation) relationships. In about 33% of the studies there was some evidence of reverse causation. The power of longitudinal studies to rule out third variable explanations was not realized in many studies. Procedures of how to analyze longitudinal data are suggested.
Article
Full-text available
Objective This study examined the effects of exposure to job strain on independent predictors of cardiovascular disease (ambulatory blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability). Methods The participants comprised a homogeneous group of 159 healthy female nurses [mean age 35.9 (SD 8.5) years]. The choice of this population minimized variance attributable to gender, socioeconomic status, and work characteristics. Job demands, decision latitude, and social support were measured with the Karasek job content questionnaire, which was administered twice with an average interval of 12.2 months. The nurses' scores for job demands and decision latitude on both occasions were used to define their job-strain category. Ambulatory blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability were assessed on a workday and a day of leisure. Results No effect on the ambulatory levels of blood pressure, heart rate, or heart rate variability was found for job strain by itself or in interaction with social support. In addition, job strain was not associated with differences in short-term or long-term physiological recovery during sleep after a workday or a day of leisure. High job demand was associated with higher systolic blood pressure at work and with higher diastolic blood pressure at work, but the latter association was found only when decision latitude was concurrently high, rather than low. Conclusions High job strain among young female nurses is not associated with an unfavorable ambulatory cardiovascular profile. The robust effect of job strain on male health appears to be less apparent for women.
Article
Full-text available
This study extends previous research on respite from work and addresses the question of how individuals use their leisure time to recover from work. It is hypothesized that time spent on work-related and household activities has a negative effect on well-being, whereas low-effort, social, and physical activities are assumed to have a positive effect. One hundred Dutch teachers completed a diary on leisure time activities and situational well-being for 5 days, and work situation variables were assessed with a questionnaire. Multilevel analyses in which preleisure well-being and work situation variables were entered as control variables supported 4 of the 5 hypotheses. Moreover, a lagged effect of high time pressure on poor situational well-being was found. The study showed that leisure time activities and a low-stress work situation contribute independently to an individual's well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
OBJECTIVES To review occupational health, laboratory, and sports literature on neuroendocrine reactivity and recovery from mental, combined mental and physical, or physical tasks. METHODS A systematic literature search was performed in eight databases. Studies with catecholamines or cortisol as effect variables measured in blood, urine, or saliva were included. RESULTS After application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 77 studies from the initial 559 identified were taken into account. In occupational settings it was found that relatively few studies were conclusive about recovery, which formed a contrast with sports research. For reactivity and recovery up to 1 hour after performing the task, half of the studies considered physical tasks and more than two thirds showed incomplete recovery compared with baseline excretion of catecholamines and cortisol. Recovery extending to 3 days after the task was performed was often incomplete for cortisol after combined mentally and physically demanding tasks, and less often after solely mental or physical tasks. This type of recovery was more often incomplete for adrenaline (epinephrine) than for noradrenaline (norepinephrine), which was the case after mental as well as combined mental and physical tasks. CONCLUSIONS The results from laboratory and sports research may be transferable to some occupations, but more research is needed on the course of recovery relative to health effects in occupational settings.
Article
Full-text available
In recent years, researchers in work and organizational psychology have increasingly become interested in short-term processes and everyday experiences of working individuals. Diaries provide the necessary means to examine these processes. Although diary studies have become more popular in recent years, researchers not familiar with this method still find it difficult to get access to the required knowledge. In this paper, we provide an introduction to this method of data collection. Using two diary study examples, we discuss methodological issues researchers face when planning a diary study, examine recent methodological developments, and give practical recommendations. Topics covered include different types of diary studies, the research questions to be examined, compliance and the issue of missing data, sample size, and issues of analyses.
Article
Full-text available
Research question: What is the prevalence of on-call duty such as work on demand or standby service in Germany? Methodology: Representative CATI survey of HR managers in 500 companies in Germany. Practical implications: Work on demand and standby services are quite common practice among companies in Germany whereas only a small proportion of employees are affected. By means of standby service companies are able to customize and to respond quickly to all customers needs at any time, but this in turn may cause a reduction of employees' leisure time.
Article
Full-text available
Zusammenfassung: Am Beispiel des Konstruktes Irritation wird der Erklarungswert von Zielerreichungstheorien fur Prozesse des Stresserlebens verdeutlicht. Aus Sicht der Zielerreichung ist Irritation ein Zustand psychischer Befindensbeeintrachtigung in Folge erlebter Zieldiskrepanz, der sowohl Ruminationen, im Sinne verstarkter Zielerreichungsbemuhungen (kognitive Irritation), als auch Gereiztheitsreaktionen, im Sinne einer Zielabwehr (emotionale Irritation), umfasst. Die postulierte zweifaktorielle Struktur des Konstruktes konnte in konfirmatorischen Faktoranalysen (N = 4030) bestatigt werden. Drei Validitatsstudien verdeutlichen die unterschiedliche instrumentelle Funktion beider Subfaktoren im Prozess der Zielerreichung und Zielablosung. Damit sind nunmehr differenziertere Aussagen uber die Mittlerrolle von Irritation zwischen Stresserleben und Krankheitsbildung moglich, die fur eine kunftige Theorien- und Hypothesenbildung sowie im Kontext psychologischer Beratung genutzt werden konnen.
Article
Full-text available
AIMS AND METHOD To describe the experiences of psychiatric senior house officers (SHOs) of being on call. A survey of SHOs on three on-call rotas across south Birmingham was conducted to investigate their opinions about on-call work and to consider how time on call is spent. RESULTS SHOs in psychiatry gain a broad range of experience out of hours on a traditional on-call rota. On-call periods were valued as a learning experience and 63% of SHOs were confident in their decision-making while on call. However, on-call work was often viewed as isolating, and not all SHOs felt that they were working as part of a team when on call. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS As changes to working patterns are introduced, for example in order to implement the European Working Time Directive, care must be taken to retain the positive aspects of current on-call systems. Such changes should be seen as an opportunity to improve working lives so that SHOs feel less isolated when providing out-of-hours cover.
Article
Full-text available
This study investigated 3 broad classes of individual-differences variables (job-search motives, competencies, and constraints) as predictors of job-search intensity among 292 unemployed job seekers. Also assessed was the relationship between job-search intensity and reemployment success in a longitudinal context. Results show significant relationships between the predictors employment commitment, financial hardship, job-search self-efficacy, and motivation control and the outcome job-search intensity. Support was not found for a relationship between perceived job-search constraints and job-search intensity. Motivation control was highlighted as the only lagged predictor of job-search intensity over time for those who were continuously unemployed. Job-search intensity predicted Time 2 reemployment status for the sample as a whole, but not reemployment quality for those who found jobs over the study's duration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
Sleep disorders and daytime fatigue are common health problems in middle-aged and elderly populations, and they vary greatly between occupational groups. There is widespread evidence that working hours and job stress may explain these differences. In this study the relationship of job demands and job control to sleep disorders was investigated. The subjects were 3079 middle-aged working men. The data were collected with a questionnaire including scales on sleep quality, job stress and lifestyle. The main effects of job demands and job control on insomnia, sleep deprivation and daytime fatigue were highly significant. Some interaction effects of the stressors were also noted. Lifestyle factors were not found as significant mediators or confounders of the effects. The associations between the stressors and sleep disorders were greater in the daytime workers than in the shift workers. The main conclusion is that job stressors have a direct relationship to sleep disorders, independent of working hours and lifestyle. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Article
Full-text available
Much of the research into telephone call centres has focused on the coercive employment systems which are adopted in these organizations. This appears to contrast with the high levels of customer service and satisfaction which are often required for them to be successful. Our research, which is based on two case studies of call centres studied in depth, challenges this 'satanic mills' image. We explore the ways in which both companies sought to balance the pressures in the product and labour markets and employee needs to develop strategies which combined elements of commitment and control. They developed sophisticated human resource practices, which resembled the high commitment management approach, while, at the same time, maintaining a highly controlled and measured work environment. Consequently, there was a greater alignment between their HR practices and control systems, the needs of employees and the high quality of interactions with customers expected. This suggests that high commitment practices are not automatically associated with extensive employee discretion, as has been argued in the manufacturing sector. HR practices of this kind can be used to offset some of the worst features of call centre working. These findings illustrate the variety of HR practices in call centres and suggest some possible reasons for this diversity.
Article
Full-text available
W. Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness." A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB. E. Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors. In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies. The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWB (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
Stress and fatigue caused by work require daily recovery periods to offset future deleterious consequences to mental and physical health. The aim, therefore, of the current study was to gain insight into recovery processes during a normal week. The main hypotheses were that more time spent on work and work-related activities will have a negative impact on recovery, while more time spent on specific leisure activities would have a beneficial impact on recovery. Using diaries, 46 respondents (average age of 35) provided daily measures of fatigue, sleep, and time spent on recovery activities over 7 days. Recovery activities included time spent on activities that were social, physical, and work-related. Results indicated that whilst low effort and social activities are nonbeneficial to recovery, physical activities significantly predict recovery (i.e., the former increase fatigue whilst the latter decrease fatigue). Sleep quality also emerges as a significant predictor of recovery. The weekend respite appears important to recovery; however, the effect seems already to wane on Sunday evening in anticipation of the Monday workload. The article provides insights into leisure activities and the experience of fatigue.
Article
Full-text available
Irritation as defined in this paper is the subjectively perceived emotional and cognitive strain in occupational contexts. The structural equivalence of the Arabic, Dutch, English, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Polish adaptations of the German Irritation Scale is examined. The Irritation Scale is recommended for application particularly in occupational contexts. In this field it can be used for evaluating interventions, for research on stress at work, and for individual counseling. Exploratory factor analyses, as well as single group and different multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses, were performed. Structural equivalency in terms of equal factor loadings as well as equal factor covariances across all adaptations can be claimed. However, the single group analyses suggest that the hypothesized factor model should be rejected in the English, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish versions, mainly because of borderline values in the RMSEA index.
Article
Full-text available
Twenty-five years of research on Karasek's job strain model has produced evidence that jobs involving high demands, low control and low social support may produce psychological strain. The present study takes this research in a new direction by using a time-sampling methodology with a group of portfolio workers (self-employed individuals who work for multiple clients) to examine whether working weeks that involve more of these characteristics are associated with greater psychological strain. The study also examines whether workers' optimism moderates the intra-individual relationship between job characteristics and strain. Every week for 26 weeks, 65 portfolio workers completed a diary containing measures of work demands, job control, social support and strain. Multi-level analyses supported the additive but not the interactive form of the job strain model. However, differences in portfolio workers' optimism moderated an interactive effect of weekly demands and control on anxiety and depression, such that the highest levels of strain were experienced by pessimists under conditions of low control and high demands. The results suggest that psychological strain can vary with temporal variations in job characteristics and that a person-situation approach is appropriate for understanding these dynamics.
Article
Full-text available
The authors of this study examined the relation between job demands and psychological detachment from work during off-job time (i.e., mentally switching off) with psychological well-being and work engagement. They hypothesized that high job demands and low levels of psychological detachment predict poor well-being and low work engagement. They proposed that psychological detachment buffers the negative impact of high job demands on well-being and work engagement. A longitudinal study (12-month time lag) with 309 human service employees showed that high job demands predicted emotional exhaustion, psychosomatic complaints, and low work engagement over time. Psychological detachment from work during off-job time predicted emotional exhaustion and buffered the relation between job demands and an increase in psychosomatic complaints and between job demands and a decrease in work engagement. The findings of this study suggest that psychological detachment from work during off-job time is an important factor that helps to protect employee well-being and work engagement.
Article
Full-text available
Knowledge on the impact of the psychosocial work environment on the occurrence of stress-related disorders (SRDs) can assist occupational physicians in the assessment of the work-relatedness of these disorders. To systematically review the contribution of work-related psychosocial risk factors to SRDs. A systematic review of the literature was carried out by searching Medline, PsycINFO and Embase for studies published up until October 2008. Studies eligible for inclusion were prospective cohort studies or patient-control studies of workers at risk for SRDs. Studies were included in the review when data on the association between exposure to psychosocial work factors and the occurrence of SRDs were presented. Where possible, meta-analysis was conducted to obtain summary odds ratios of the association. The strength of the evidence was assessed using four levels of evidence. From the 2426 studies identified, seven prospective studies were included in this review. Strong evidence was found that high job demands, low job control, low co-worker support, low supervisor support, low procedural justice, low relational justice and a high effort-reward imbalance predicted the incidence of SRDs. This systematic review points to the potential of preventing SRDs by improving the psychosocial work environment. However, more prospective studies are needed on the remaining factors, exposure assessment and the relative contributions of single factors, in order to enable consistent assessment of the work-relatedness of SRDs by occupational physicians.
Chapter
IntroductionIndividual Differences and Stress Experiences: Basic MechanismsWhat Makes Stressors Stressful? The Role of Goals and Aspirations in the Stress ProcessVulnerable VS. Resilient PersonsResponse Tendencies and CopingFinal CommentsReferences
Article
Zusammenfassung: Am Beispiel des Konstruktes Irritation wird der Erklärungswert von Zielerreichungs-theorien für Prozesse des Stresserlebens verdeutlicht. Aus Sicht der Zielerreichung ist Irritation ein Zustand psychischer Befindensbeeinträchtigung in Folge erlebter Zieldiskrepanz, der sowohl Ruminationen, im Sinne verstärkter Zielerreichungsbemühungen (kognitive Irritation), als auch Gereiztheitsreaktionen, im Sinne ei-ner Zielabwehr (emotionale Irritation), umfasst. Die postulierte zweifaktorielle Struktur des Konstruktes konnte in konfirmatorischen Faktoranalysen (N = 4030) bestätigt werden. Drei Validitätsstudien verdeutli-chen die unterschiedliche instrumentelle Funktion beider Subfaktoren im Prozess der Zielerreichung und Zielablösung. Damit sind nunmehr differenziertere Aussagen über die Mittlerrolle von Irritation zwischen Stresserleben und Krankheitsbildung möglich, die für eine künftige Theorien-und Hypothesenbildung sowie im Kontext psychologischer Beratung genutzt werden können. Abstract: From the perspective of theories concerning goal-orientation, irritation is a state of psychological strain resulting from goal-discrepancy. Irritation includes both ruminations, in terms of reinforced goal-orientation (cognitive irritation), and irritability, in terms of goal defence (emotional irritation). Confirma-tory factor analyses (N = 4,030) support the assumed two-factorial structure of the irritation scale. Three validity studies clarify the different roles of both subfactors in the process of goal-orientation and goal-disengagement. This differentiation enables more detailed statements about the mediating role played by irritation in the relationship between the experience of stress and the development of illness. These results should encourage the development of theories and hypotheses concerning psychological strain and goal orientation and have practical implications for psychological counselling.
Article
central theme is the experimental study of how environmental factors influence human health and behavior / special attention is given to the health hazards associated with demands on human adaptation to the rapid rate of change in modern society / the approach is multidisciplinary, focusing on the dynamics of stressful person-environment interactions, viewed from social, psychological, and biological perspectives endocrine markers of stressful person-environemt interactions / adrenal hormones: cornerstones in stress research / activation of the adrenal-medullary responses / activation of the corticosteroid response / patterns of endocrine stress responses / one of the key notions in our approach to stress is that neuroendocrine responses to the psychosocial environment reflect its emotional impact on the individual personal control and health outcomes (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
A review of clinical, experimental, and field research on stress, together with the author's own research, provides the background for a theory that emphasizes the importance of cognitive processes. Harvard Book List (edited) 1971 #370 (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Recovery from work stress is crucial in avoiding stress-related ill-health. The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate whether processes that prolong the mental exposure to work stressors, such as inability to withdraw from work (IW), the core construct in overcommitment, predicts fatigue and poor next-day recovery 6 months later over what is predicted by job control and job demands. Self-ratings in questionnaires were completed by 160 women working in dental care at two time points, 6 months apart. Job demands, job control, and IW were used to predict fatigue and poor next-day recovery, respectively. Multiple regression analyses show that having children living at home, high job demands, and high IW were associated with fatigue 6 months later. Job demands and IW, but not having children at home, predicted poor next-day recovery. Mediation analyses using a bootstrapping procedure indicated that IW partly mediated the relationship between job demands and fatigue and between job demands and next-day recovery. These findings highlight the importance of considering IW in relation to fatigue and recovery from work and that such factors should be included in interventions targeting work-related stress.
Article
Four broad classes of dependent variables (psychological strain, physical illness symptoms, health-related behaviour and social participation) were associated with eleven categories of stressors and stress moderators from work and family life, using multiple logistic regression analysis for a random sample of 8700 full-time male and female members of T.C.O., a major Swedish white-collar labour federation (covering 25 per cent of the Swedish labour force). Our goal was to find broad patterns of associations by comparing relative magnitudes of effects for (a) stressors and stress moderators; (b) work and family activities, and (c) males and females.