Description
Shiftwork itself is becoming more prevalent, in both traditional manufacturing and now in the service sector. Employers are introducing new shiftworking patterns prompted by economic considerations – the need to eliminate machine downtime through continuous 24-hour usage, or to compete in a marketplace that demands services all day, every day. This excellent book guides the reader through the many and varied forms of shiftwork, adopting from the outset a broad definition of the term to embrace any regularly-taken employment outside the “day working window”, the hours between 06.00 and 18.00. The authors, both specialists in the field, describe the diverse experiences of shift workers and identify the problems shiftworkers find in coping with abnormal work hours, problems which often arise from causes other than the disruption of their circadian systems – the adverse impact on their family or social lives. The authors note the influence of changing family organization, where a dual income/double-jobbing (moonlighting) household will opt for the flexibility of shiftwork and out-of-hours availability of goods and services to secure an acceptable standard of living. The authors acknowledge the problems inherent in studying shiftwork, reviewing three classes of study; field, survey, and laboratory simulation, and note that successful research approaches must rely on multidisciplinary teams. They discuss the role of national culture in determining and limiting the applicability of “generic” results.
