Making Shiftwork Tolerable

By: Timothy H. Monk and Simon Folkard

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Synopsis: This text guides the reader through the many forms of shiftwork, adopting a broad definition as being any regularly-taken employment outside the "day working window" 06.00 to 18.00. This excellent guide introduces the many and caried 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 authors, both internationally recognised experts in the field, describe in jargon-free language the diverse experiences of shift workers and identify the problems associated with abnormal hours. As shiftwork becomes more prevalent, prompted by economic considerations of employers in both traditional manufacturing and more recently, in the service sector, new shiftwork patterns are being introduced. The authors acknowledge the problems inherent in studying shiftwork, reviewing three classes of study: field, survey and laboratory simulation, and discuss the role of national culture in determining and limiting the applicability of 'generic' results. Topics covered include human, biological, economic, social and domestic influences; stress, strain and shiftwork; health and safety; shiftwork and task performance.