Flexible working conditions and their effects on employee health and wellbeing

The effect of work-time influence on health and well-being: a quasi-experimental intervention study among eldercare workers

“…Like ours, none of these interventions, however, succeeded in improving lifestyle factors, self-rated physical health, or biomarkers of CVD risk, except from systolic blood pressure (Lowden and Åkerstedt 2000;Kandolin and Huida 1996;Pryce et al 2006;Smith et al 1998;Dunham et al 1987;Viitasalo et al 2008). Despite these results, two recent reviews concluded that self-scheduling "can have beneWcial health, social and organizational eVects" (Bambra et al 2008), and "interventions…are likely to be associated with health improvements including improvements in physical health, mental health, and general health measures" (Joyce et al 2010). Although these conclusions seem intuitively reasonable, at present the evidence of a general eVect of work-time inXuence on measures of health is limited.…”

“…In addition, in three studies, increased individual Xexibility was introduced along with other changes in the work schedules such as direction of rotation and starting and ending times of shifts (Kandolin and Huida 1996;Smith et al 1998;Viitasalo et al 2008). Moreover, only Wve of the aforementioned intervention studies had a design suYciently strong for meeting the inclusion criteria in a 2010 Cochrane review of the eVect of Xexible working hours on health and well-being (Joyce et al 2010). To be included, the study ought to (1) be a randomized controlled trial, interrupted time series, or controlled before and after study; (2) use of a validated instrument for outcome measurement; and (3) have ¸6 months follow-up (Joyce et al 2010).…”

“…Moreover, only Wve of the aforementioned intervention studies had a design suYciently strong for meeting the inclusion criteria in a 2010 Cochrane review of the eVect of Xexible working hours on health and well-being (Joyce et al 2010). To be included, the study ought to (1) be a randomized controlled trial, interrupted time series, or controlled before and after study; (2) use of a validated instrument for outcome measurement; and (3) have ¸6 months follow-up (Joyce et al 2010). The study by Lowden and Åkerstedt (2000) was excluded from the review because outcomes were not measured using a validated instrument.…”

The moderating effect of work-time influence on the effect of shift work: a prospective cohort study

“…Thus, our theoretical model implies that the negative eVect of demanding working hours could be leveled out by inXuence on the working hours, as this inXuence could be used to schedule the working hours according to the employees' preferences. This theory is supported empirically, as intervention studies of individual work-time inXuence have demonstrated positive eVects (Joyce et al 2010). More speciWcally, better worklife balance, higher job satisfaction, social support, and sense of community have been found among nurses and health care workers (Pryce et al 2006), decreased tiredness has been found among midwifes (Kandolin and Huida 1996), and increased satisfaction with colleagues and reduced sleep problems have been found among retail workers (Lowden and Åkerstedt 2000).…”

Combined Effects of Shiftwork and Individual Working Time Control on Long-Term Sickness Absence

“…14 Working time control is often associated with the better mental and social well-being of employees, especially in situations where they have to be flexible for the needs of their employer or company. 15,16 On the basis of a recent Cochrane review, 17 the evidence from 10 different studies tentatively suggests that flexible working time interventions that increase worker control and choice are likely to have a positive effect on health. Nijp et al 18 have presented two separate mechanisms that potentially explain WTC's favorable associations with well-being.…”