Hours of work, attitudes, and well-being : the relationship between work schedule and the quality of life

This study examined five research questions on the relationship between hours of work and the quality of life, including attitudes about work, nonwork, and life satisfaction, as well as perceptions of stress, tension, fatigue, and interference between work and nonwork. A total of 520 nursing employees at a university hospital in the southeastern United States participated. Data were gathered over a 13-and-a-half month period from employees working four different work schedule formats. Included were a traditional, eight-hour, seven day on, two day off schedule; a 12-hour, seven day on, seven day off schedule; a 12-hour, 2-3 day on, 2-3 day off schedule; and a modified eight-hour schedule, within which employees were off for three days every other weekend. Twenty-two variables, measuring a variety of indications of quality of life, were analyzed. Among workers changing from an eight-hour work schedule to a 12-hour, "compressed" workweek, improvements in a variety of work and nonwork variables were noted immediately after the change; however, most of the positive effects had disappeared 13 months later. Of the four work schedules, a 12- hour, seven day on, seven day off schedule was found to be associated with the most positive perceptions of quality of life. In examining the relationship between work hour satisfaction and quality of life variables, interference between the job and nonwork activities demonstrated the strongest association. A five variable regression model was formed, accounting for 54 percent of the variability in work hour satisfaction. When quality of life variables were regressed on life satisfaction, five variables explained 65 percent of the variation. Personal satisfaction (a measure of satisfaction with the variety and accomplishment in one's life) and satisfaction with free time activities demonstrated the strongest association with the way people felt about their lives as a whole. Work hour satisfaction also displayed a substantial relationship with life satisfaction (r² = .31). Finally, "direct" measures of the impact of work on nonwork revealed substantial perceived interference between the job and both free time activities and family life. Many respondents felt that they had less free time than needed, although they expressed satisfaction with the way they currently spent their available free time. Many participants indicated at least some sleep disruption, a common side effect of working other than traditional eight hour per day, five day per week, daylight work schedules. A model describing the impact of work hours on work and nonwork attitudes was proposed.