Comparative case studies of shift workers : resilience and related outcomes.

Abstract

A comparative case study is presented that provides relational and descriptive evidence to suggest unique cases of shift work. The cases, namely hospitality and call centre, are similar in terms of person specification and low levels of core job characteristics which makes for a viable comparison. The call centre context is a distinctive case due to electronic performance monitoring which is suggested as a factor contributing to different relationships between variables in this context. The growing prevalence of call centres and shift work both nationally and internationally creates the need for scrupulous examination of the impacts of this type of work on employees. The outcomes examined in these contexts include loneliness, fatigue as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression. Resilience is examined as a relational variable as it has been found to be an enduring personality variable that serves as a counterweight to negative environmental forces acting upon well-being. Specifically, relationships between resilience and outcome variables are compared across contexts. The findings suggest that in call centre shift work resilience most strongly predicts fatigue, followed by loneliness and symptoms of anxiety and depression while in hospitality shift work resilience most strongly predicts loneliness, followed by fatigue as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, a statistical difference was not found which may be a factor of small sample size in the call centre (n=40) and hospitality (n=50) contexts. Motivations for working shifts and shift patterns were not significantly different across contexts and these factors are explored in depth using descriptive evidence. It was also found that some demographic factors had a significant but small impact on the main variables.