COMPRESSED - A Longitudinal Study of Compressed Work Schedules Within the Health, Care and Welfare Services

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aim of COMPRESSED is to investigate the potential consequences of a compressed work schedule within the municipal health, care and welfare services.

Detailed Description
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The aim of COMPRESSED is to investigate the potential consequences of a compressed work schedule within the municipal health, care and welfare services. A compressed work schedule is defined by an increase in numbers of hours per day, and a reduction of number of days per week. Compressed work schedules are advocated as a tool to reduce involuntary part-time contracts, and improve employee recruitment and retention, as well as improve employee health and quality of care. However, the empirical support of such claims is limited, mixed, and suffers from several methodological shortcomings. There is a clear lack in studies investigating the potential moderating and mediating mechanisms, despite moderating variables such as shift intensity being likely to have an impact. In collaboration with unions and employers, COMPRESSED uses a longitudinal mixed method design, to investigate the short- and long-term consequences of compressed work schedules, as well as potential moderating and mediating variables. Each of the research questions will be addressed with complimentary methods in each of the work packages. The project COMPRESSED will examine: In-depth narrative interviews eliciting employees', employers', and patients'/users' own perceptions of consequences, moderators and mechanisms. A retrospective intervention study using registry data, examining compressed work schedules implemented over the past 5 years. A two year longitudinal survey looking at long-term effects and 4) a diary study across two weeks, looking at short-term effects.

Official Title
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COMPRESSED - A Longitudinal Study of Compressed Work Schedules Within the Health, Care and Welfare Services

Conditions
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The Focus of the Study is Shift Work

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: No intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Employed within the municipal health, care and welfare services. Exclusion Criteria: -
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Employees within the municipal health, care and welfare services<br>All employees within the municipal health, care and welfare services. No internvention. We investigate the relationship between caracteristics of their shift systems and potential outcomes. | Other: No intervention<br>* No intervention<br>|
| Employees within the municipal health, care and welfare services 2<br>Employees within the municipal health, care and welfare services, replying to a survey. Sample is drawn by representative unions. No internvention. We investigate the relationship between caracteristics of their shift systems and potential outcomes. | Other: No intervention<br>* No intervention<br>|
| Users of the municipal health, care and welfare services.<br>Users of the municipal health, care and welfare services.No internvention. We investigate the relationship between caracteristics of the shift systems worked and potential outcomes for users. | Other: No intervention<br>* No intervention<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Featigue | Fatigue General Fatigue scale from the Checklist of Individual Strength (CIS-20; Vercoulen et al., 1994) | 2027 | 
| Mental health | Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-5) | 2027 | 
| Generell helse | The general health measure from the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) (Ware, 1992) | 2027 | 
| Sickness absence | self-repport and regestry data | 2027 | 
| Quality of care | From COPSOQ | 2027 | 
| Care left undone | adapted from (Senek et al., 2020) and a measure by (Ball, Murrells, Rafferty, Morrow, & Griffiths, 2014) informed by the validated Basel Extent of Rationing of Nursing scale (Schubert et al., 2008). | 2027 | 
| Intention to quit | (Kuvaas, 2006). | 2027 | 
| Occupational commitment | (Tam, Korczynski, & Frenkel, 2002) | 2027 | 
| Regestry-data | We will attempt to measure 1. Health, 2 recruitment and retention and 3. Quality of care, using registry data. And important part of the project will be to explore how these aspects are best measured using registry data. Their final operationalization is therefore not set. | 2027 |