Editorial regarding the recently announced change in resident duty hours

Thesis advisor: Patricia Tabloski / Fatigue is a factor in human error particularly on tasks requiring sustained attention (Dinges, 1995). Work-hour studies of staff nurses have demonstrated that the risks of making an error increased when nurses worked longer shifts (Rogers, Hwang, Scott, Aiken, and Dinges, 2004. Workload in anesthesia care can vary widely with diverse cognitive and physical demands (Gaba and Lee, 1990; Weinger, Herndon, Zornow, Paulus, Gaba, and Dallen, 1994; Weinger, Reddy, and Slagle, 2004; Weinger and Slagle 2001). The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of work hours and workload on fatigue in certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). A predictive, correlational design was employed and utilized an electronic survey of 10,000 active certified and active recertified CRNAs. A total of 928 CRNAs completed the survey which included a self-report of work hours. Workload was measured by the NASA Task Load Index and fatigue by the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS-20). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was applied to the data to test the hypotheses that 1) after controlling for demographic variables, the number of work hours and workload will positively influence post-shift fatigue in nurse anesthetists and 2) after controlling for demographic variables, there will be an interaction between work hours and workload in nurse anesthetists. Work hours and workload explained 19 % of the variance in fatigue in nurse anesthetists with the greatest contribution being from the number of work hours and the workload dimension of performance satisfaction. The study findings suggest that increasing hours of anesthesia time and increasing workload, particularly dissatisfaction with meeting the goals of the anesthetic (performance dimension) increase fatigue in nurse anesthetists. The implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing. / Discipline: Nursing.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Liberty University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

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Many studies have found an increase in the percentage of workers working 50 or more weekly hours in the second half of the 20thcentury; however, few studies extend this analysis into the 21stcentury, and few have analyzed these patterns for women in depth. This paper provides an analysis of long work hours for men and women from 1979 to 2017. I investigate how workers who differ in education level, presence and age of children, salary type, and occupation gender-mix classification (for managerial/professional occupations), differ in their likelihood to work long hours. Using a linear probability model, I determine that those most likely to overwork include highly educated men and women, men with children, women without children, salaried workers, and workers in historically male-dominated managerial/professional occupations. Finally, using a Oaxaca decomposition, I find that changes in observable characteristics can account for between 52.28% and 72.62% of the 2 percentage point decrease in long work hours seen for men between the 2000-2002 time period and the 2015-2017 time period.

Within Australia and in Europe. there is evidence of growth in the incidence of non¬standard forms of employment such as part-time and casual work. Part of this growth can be attributed to changes in the structure of the economy and the increasing importance of service industries where non-standard forms of employment proliferate. There is also evidence, however, that employers at the firm level are progressively expanding their use of non-standard employment and reducing their reliance on full-time labour. One explanation for this organisational-level phenomena has been suggested by Atkinson (1987) in his account of the ‘flexible firm’. Atkinson claims that employers are increasingly attempting to divide the workforce into two major segments: a skilled, full-time core labour force and an unskilled, non-standard segment. This thesis examines Atkinson’s ‘flexible firm’ model through a study of labour-use practices of three acute hospitals in Queensland. A main finding of this thesis is the generalised and substantial growth of non-standard employment in all types of Queensland hospitals. The growth of non-standard hospital labour is not as, Atkinson would suggest, largely the result of demand-side strategies of employers but is also conditioned by supply-side factors. Gender, rather than skill, is found to be an important determinant of the proliferation of non-standard employment. Non-standard employment is not the major labour adjustment mechanism in all sectors of the hospital industry. Labour intensification is a critical and overlooked form of labour adjustment in the public sector. Overall, this thesis concludes that employers’ labour-use practices need to be conceptualised within the context of the opportunities and constraints imposed by the interaction of demand and supply-side factors.

This study primarily explores the effect of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited¡¦s implementation of 50 work hours per week on employee work performance and work quality satisfaction. After literature review, this study establishes three propositions, two basic hypotheses, and uses employees at the Southern Taiwan Science Park Fourteenth Factory as the population, the departments as the stratification standards in stratified random sampling. After statistical analysis, this study arrives at the following conclusions: 1. Shortened work hours have a significant positive influence on work satisfaction. 2. Shortened work hours have a significant positive influence on work performance. The result shows that a 50-hour work per week would elevate employees¡¦ work performance and work satisfaction.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is any connection between working hours, desired working hours and the worker ́s health. The study also aims to investigate if there are any differences over time. Earlier studies have shown that individuals need a balance in their life between worked hours and free time. This balance seems to be important for employees if they want to lead and remain a healthy lifestyle. If the employed doesn’t feel satisfied with his or her working hours then the balance can get disrupted which could lead to a number of health problems. There are a lot of studies that aim to explain the relationship between working hours and health. There is a missing area which examines the relation between desired working hours and the worker`s health. Therefore, this topic is interesting to study more closely. The study is conducted using data from the Swedish survey of living condition panel (ULF). The panels consist of people between 16 to 84 years old. The study started in 1975. Since 1979 the study has been conducted at 8 yearly intervals. The data is administrated by Statistic Sweden (SCB). Three hypotheses have derived from previous research 1; employees who are satisfied with their work hours are least fatigued 2; the relation between working hours and desired working hours has bigger effects on women than men. 3; women who are satisfied with their working hours are less fatigued over time. The results showed that people who are working fulltime or part time with a desire to work less are feeling most fatigued. People who are satisfied with their working hours are least fatigued. The relation between working hours and desired working hours has bigger effects on women then men. Women who are working part time are feeling less fatigued over time.

Although prior research has documented the harmful effects of shiftwork on health and well-being, the relationship between shiftwork and other workplace stressors remains unclear. The current study addresses this gap by using longitudinal data from three cycles of the National Population Health Survey to explore 1) the direct effects of shiftwork and JDCSM variables (job demands, job control, social support, and mastery) on health and well-being, 2) whether shiftwork moderates the effects of JDCSM variables, and 3) whether the effects of shiftwork are mediated by these variables. In addition, “reverse” causal relationships between four measures of strain and workplace stressors are investigated. The results suggest that shiftwork is associated with a reduction in job satisfaction over two cycles. However, there was no evidence of a relationship between shiftwork and changes in chronic health conditions, psychological distress, or health-related quality of life. Consistent with the JDCSM model, increased job demands predicted more distress and less job satisfaction, while greater mastery predicted less distress and more job satisfaction. In addition, job control and social support predicted improved health-related quality of life. The associations were more consistent with the thesis’s predictions across two cycles than across three. There was only weak support for the hypotheses that shiftwork moderates the effects of JDCSM variables. However, there was evidence that changes in job control and social support mediate the effects of shiftwork on job satisfaction. There was also support for reverse causal effects between various outcomes and workplace stressors. However, the prediction that shiftwork moderates these reverse effects received only weak and inconsistent support. Exploratory analyses found specific JDCSM and strain variables to predict an individual’s continuation in shiftwork over time. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The purpose of this thesis is to study how the Swedish welfare state formulated a question of shorter work hours, 1919—2002. During the 1900s, several official reports were published in order to produce knowledge about this issue and construct a manageable inquiry about shorter work hours. The aim of this thesis is to examine what were formulated as problems and solutions and which arguments and beliefs emerged from these formulations. Official state reports are regarded as instruments of knowledge production by the state. This intelligence was required to justify the possibility and desirability of the reform that shaped the question of shorter work hours in the welfare state.   The aim of the official reports was to create knowledge, which determined the value of working time reduction. Leisure as welfare meant that the state interpreted the citizens’ needs and formulated working-time reduction as either a possible or impossible reform. Working hours have never been justified as a reform that simply gives more leisure and less time for work. The reform was instead considered possible and desirable because it was interpreted as helping to reproduce the labour force or capitalism as a whole. It was thought impossible and undesirable when considered to be a threat to this reproduction.   However, there were two major reformulations of the question of shorter work. In the middle of the selected period, the matter moved from the sphere of production to a consumption sphere, meaning that the issue became less conflicted. The state’s responsibility to push the reform was deemphasized. Another reformulation is when flexibility was formulated as a solution, and thus made regulation of working time undesirable and unnecessary. This study shows how the conception of a question of shorter work hours was a process requiring formulations and reformulations and how these expressions fundamentally changed over time, although the basic premises remained.