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Results for “Work Schedule Tolerance”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[Ergonomic evaluation of working conditions and the possibilities of their optimal improvement in small slaughterhouses].

Assessment of working conditions in small slaughter-butcher workshops was based on the measurements of microclimate, illumination intensity, noise level, physical work, load, health risk factors and of other parameters which increased the work strenuousness. The analysis showed that the working conditions were harmful, mainly due to unfavourable microclimate, too poor illumination and the magnitude of physical load which reached mid-heavy and heavy levels. Based on performed analysis of occupational hazards a list of simple technical procedures which could improve working conditions was established by the authors.

Abattoirs↗
PubMed1991

Shiftwork. Consequences and considerations.

1. The shiftworker's inability to adapt to shiftwork schedules can lead to a loss of physical and psychological well being, and can produce negative safety and performance consequences. 2. The factors that contribute to the intolerance of working shiftwork schedules are complex and interrelated and include host variables (i.e., circadian rhythms) and environmental variables (i.e., type of shifts worked). 3. The most direct and consistent effect of working shiftwork is the impairment of the quality and quantity of sleep. 4. Interventions should include a program that monitors workers' tolerance to shiftwork and provides information and recommendations for employees to effectively manage a lifestyle that incorporates nighttime work schedules.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1991

[Circadian variation in alertness, readiness for work and work efficiency].

Among various rhythmic processes with different frequencies (periods), which are present in the human organism, for normal functioning the most important are the rhythms with a cycle length of about 24 hours (termed circadian rhythms). Circadian rhythms have been confirmed at all levels of physiological functions: from subcellular and cellular mechanisms, to the organic systems and organism on the whole. In normal everyday circumstances the rhythmic processes in the human organism are synchronised with the rhythmic processes in the environment. The external rhythmic variations support internal synchronisation between various rhythms, and in that way make it possible for the organism to better adapt to the environment. The sleep--wake rhythm is inverted during night work: the worker has to work in the period of low activity level, and sleep during the day, when he is usually active and alert. In order to work in shifts the worker has to adapt to such disruptions of the sleep--wake pattern. Tolerance to shift work was found to be associated with some features of the worker. The measurement of such features could serve as determinate of interindividual differences in shift work tolerance level.

Body Temperature↗
PubMed1992

The relation of shift work tolerance to the circadian adjustment.

The amplitude and phasing of circadian rhythms are under discussion as possible predictors of tolerance to night work. In a field study, subjective sleepiness and oral temperature of 147 female nurses were measured at 2-hour intervals during a period with one morning shift and two consecutive night shifts. The nurses also filled out a questionnaire. Two types of tolerance indices were constructed: The "health index" was based on questions referring to general fatigue, gastrointestinal symptoms, and sleep disturbances, and the "sleepiness index" on the actual subjective ratings of sleepiness. According to the health index, the group with good tolerance had a larger circadian amplitude of the oral temperature rhythm on the day of the morning shift than the group with poor tolerance. However, with regard to the sleepiness index, the corresponding difference between the groups with good or poor tolerance was not significant. The data did not confirm the hypothesis that predicts a quick adjustment of the circadian rhythm when the circadian amplitude is small before the change to night work. The contradictory results found in this and in other studies do not yet permit prediction of tolerance to night work.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Interindividual differences in tolerance to shift work and characteristics of shift workers: relation between the quality and duration of sleep and certain worker characteristics].

The investigation aimed at examining the relationship between the quality and duration of sleep on the one hand and various shift workers' characteristics on the other, as well as establishing whether sleep characteristics were congruent with some other indices of night shift tolerance. A total of 604 rotating shift workers working in a fast rotating shift system were administered a battery of questionnaires. The results showed that sleep quality was related to their many characteristics, especially to neuroticism, rigidity of sleeping habits, flexibility of habits, and relaxedness. Actually, the shift workers' characteristics accounted for a notable percentage (48%) of interindividual differences in sleep quality. However, there were fewer traits related to sleep duration than to sleep quality so that only a small percentage of interindividual differences in sleep duration could be explained (12-30%). Sleep quality proved to be a good indicator of night shift tolerance. The results concerning sleep duration indicated only sleep duration on the afternoon shift and days off, as well as average sleep duration in the complete shift cycle, to be relatively good indices of night shift tolerance.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Desynchronization of oral temperature, pulse and performance circadian rhythms in shift working Indian nurses.

Circadian time structure in shift working Indian nurses was studied. In shift workers desynchronization between circadian rhythms in different physiological variables was observed. Circadian amplitudes of oral temperature, pulse and random add speed rhythms decreased significantly in shift workers as compared to control subjects. Circadian mesors of performance rhythms increased significantly in shift workers indicating that the time taken by them was more for performing the tasks. It can be concluded that the subjects studied herein are intolerant to shift work and amplitude decrement may be considered as a chronobiologic index to determine the tolerance of individual workers to shift work.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Shiftwork: its effect on workers.

Shiftworkers have more complaints in three specific areas: sleep-wake disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and cardiovascular disorders. After 1 to 4 months of effective shiftworking, more than 50% of shiftworkers leave shiftwork after suffering from fatigue, sleep disturbance, and other problems. In addition, older workers seem less able to adjust to shiftwork and are more likely to leave sooner. Three main factors influence the ability to predict adjustment to shiftwork: rigidity/flexibility of sleeping habits; ability/inability to overcome drowsiness; and morningness/eveningness. Occupational health nurses can influence shiftwork policy and workers' health through health promotion policies aimed at predicting which workers might be less tolerant of shiftwork, scheduling shiftwork so it follows the sun, and providing early diagnosis and rapid treatment to workers with symptoms that need management.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1992

[Recommendations in relation to shift work].

The purpose of the recommendations is to decrease as much as possible physiological, psychological and social problems connected with shift work. To achieve this goal working hours should be organized to take account of shift workers' tolerance to shift work. When recruiting new shift workers certain personal characteristics that make work in any shift work system inadvisable should be checked. As shift work can be considered to be an additional load, shift workers' health requires regular checking-up. If there are signs of health impairment, the workers should be removed from night shift work permanently or at least temporarily. The shift workers' free time should be arranged so as to facilitate recovery from shift work, especially after night shift. To decrease the workload during the night shift, if possible, workers should be given opportunity to take naps during work.

Humans↗
PubMed1992

Alteration of circadian rhythm in shift-working ambulance personnel. Monitoring of salivary cortisol rhythm.

In order to investigate the relationship between internal desynchronization and clinical intolerance to shift work, a set of circadian rhythms including salivary cortisol rhythm were monitored in seven shift-working ambulance personnel. Oral temperature, grip strength of both hands, subjective assessment of drowsiness, fatigue and attention were recorded approximately every four hours except during sleep, for seven days. Self-sampling of salivary cortisol, which was suitable evaluation of endocrine rhythm in field studies, was also tried in this study. cosinor (cosine curve fitting) method and power spectral analysis were used for time series data analysis. The internal desynchronizations between rhythms of physiological variables and sleep-wake cycle were observed in shift-working ambulance personnel. The incidence of internal desynchronization seemed to be higher in intolerant subjects, although the difference between tolerant and intolerant subjects did not reach a statistically significant level. The peak time of salivary cortisol rhythm during a twenty-four hour shift was phase-advanced as intolerant to shift work showed apparently an atypical circadian pattern of salivary cortisol with an abnormal peak at 21.00 h. In this subject, the clinical intolerance to shift work seemed to be associated with internal desynchronization of circadian rhythms. The present study confirmed the internal desynchronization of the circadian rhythm in physiological rhythms like oral temperature and grip strengths, and was in favour of the hypothesis of an internal desynchronization and clinical intolerance to shift work. The clinical implication of impairment of salivary cortisol rhythm remains to be further investigated.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Work capacity, residual capacity and work tolerance times. A proposed measuring method].

A simple method for assessing the physical working capacity [in terms of maximal work capacity, loss of work capacity in diseased people, long-term work capacity (or critical power), endurance time] is proposed. The method consists in performing two "6 minutes workload" of different but known power and in measuring the corresponding heart rates and O2 uptakes at steady state. The effort was a "step-test" at different height of the step and rate of ascent and descent from it. The O2 uptake was measured either directly or indirectly from a nomogram (starting from the step height and the frequency of the up and down). The measured and estimated values of O2- uptake were very well correlated and this might be an indication for the method to be used in not equipped factory ambulatory or directly in workplaces. The maximal capacity to perform an effort was calculated on the basis of the linear regression between heart rate and O2-uptake, calculating the O2 maximal values (VO2MAX) from the predicted maximal heart rate (FMAX); analogously, the critical power was obtained by calculating the O2 critical values (VO2CRIT) from the predicted critical heart rate (FCRIT); the loss of work capacity is the difference between two maximal powers, the theoretical and the measured one. The endurance time was measured on the basis of the hypothesis of a linear regression between level of an effort and logarithm of the time to perform it. Finally, a few procedures to assess the actual work capacity in subjects with pulmonary or blood diseases are discussed; in these subjects the O2 transfer might be limited by ventilation disorders or by low content of haemoglobin.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Chrono-type as a factor of shiftwork tolerance in women].

Almost all physiological and psychological functions of human beings reveal circadian variations. The parameters of those rhythms differ in various subjects dependently on their individual diurnal characteristics, named here chrono-type. The difference in phase of maximal arousal is particularly apparent so that it implies the distinction between the morning and the evening types. The comparative study of both chrono-types was done with regard to the subjective health, sleep disorders and disturbances, attitudes towards shiftwork and physical fitness as measured by indirect prediction of the maximal oxygen uptake. In spite of differences in the bedtime and awaking time, representatives of morning and evening type did not differ when considering the amount of sleep. Both groups slept about one hour less than subjectively required. The analysis of sleep disorders (during days with various shifts and days off) showed that their configuration was different in compared groups. Morning types more often woke before proper time and suffered from frequent mid-sleep awakenings. They had also more difficulties in falling asleep and felt tired after awakening when working night shift. Evening types reported more often difficulties in awakening (independently on work shift) and complained low well-being or tiredness after awakening when working morning or afternoon shift and during days off. The percentage of morning types reporting various sleep disturbances of external (noise, daylight) or internal (hunger, nervousness) origin was 13 to 74. The corresponding figures for evening types were 4 to 52%. Subjective health was assessed with use of a list of 74 symptoms. It was found that morning individuals significantly more frequently reported fevers and sub-febrile states, itching in heart region, pains or tightness in heart region when nervous and musculoskeletal pains. No significant differences in gastrointestinal complaints were found. Analysis of typical circulatory, respiratory and musculoskeletal syndromes revealed the lower frequency of circulatory and musculoskeletal complaints and more respiratory symptoms in evening types. This latter could be considered as the result of prevalence of smokers in this group. The prediction of maximal oxygen uptake with use of indirect Astrand-Rhythm method showed significantly higher values in evening types. Taking into account that the result of this method is based on the heart rate response to submaximal load--it is highly probable that the difference observed is due to chrono-type related difference in phase of circadian rhythm of heart rate reaction to the load applied on the same time of the day. Both studied groups differed significantly as to the percentage of persons approving the work in shifts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1991

House staff work hours and moonlighting: what do residents want? A survey of pediatric residents in California.

In the autumn of 1988, pediatric residents were surveyed on attitudes toward work hours, moonlighting, and priorities in regulation of working conditions. Questionnaires for all 756 California residents in accredited pediatric programs were sent to chief residents. Of these, 676 questionnaires were distributed to residents and 319 (47%) were returned. Respondents indicated strong support for limits on house staff working hours, and most approved of the reduction regulations proposed in New York State. Most believed that individual departments, hospitals, or subspecialties should regulate hours. By a ratio of 4.3:1, however, respondents favored legislative intervention if such limits were not set by the profession. Moonlighting was generally considered to be an individual's choice and responsibility, but a majority were willing to restrict moonlighting if total house staff hours were also limited.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1992

A faculty-house staff retreat.

There has been much discussion regarding the causes of stress in residency training programs and solutions to alleviate the pressure. As a partial solution, we have found discussions of retreats for pediatric interns in the medical literature, but no discussion of department-wide retreats. Since the early 1970s, the University of Wisconsin (Madison) Department of Pediatrics has held a faculty-house staff retreat every 2 years. The more recent retreats used process-oriented discussions in its goals of fostering understanding through group communication to reduce stress. The 1989 agenda was an expansion of previous efforts with extensive faculty and house staff involvement before, during, and after the retreat. The purposes of this article are to review the literature on the use of retreats in various settings, especially residency training programs; describe the past and present use of retreats by the University of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics; describe the 1989 retreat; and describe the positive and negative aspects relating to retreats as we have used them. We believe our retreat is unique, serves many purposes, and has been a successful tool for relieving residency stress.

Counseling↗