Have we underestimated shiftworkers' problems? Evidence from a 'reminiscence' study

This paper argues that shiftworkers may have gradually habituated to their problems and hence that they underestimate them. Some support for this view was obtained in a 'reminiscence' questionnaire study of retired UK Police Officers who had all subsequently taken on another (mainly day-ti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ergonomics 1993-01, Vol.36 (1-3), p.307-312
Main Authors: SPELTEN, EVELIEN, BARTON, JANE, FOLKARD, SIMON
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Adult
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Circadian Rhythm
Employment
Ergonomics. Human factors
Fatigue
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Habituation, Psychophysiologic
Health Status Indicators
Humans
Male
Memory
Mental health
Middle Aged
Occupational psychology
Police
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Retirement
Retrospective Studies
Social research
Space life sciences
Work Schedule Tolerance
Working hours
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Summary:This paper argues that shiftworkers may have gradually habituated to their problems and hence that they underestimate them. Some support for this view was obtained in a 'reminiscence' questionnaire study of retired UK Police Officers who had all subsequently taken on another (mainly day-time) job. They completed a specially constructed questionnaire, which included several measures of health and well being, and in which they were asked to reminisce about how they had felt while still a shiftworker. These reminiscence scores were compared to their current perception of how they were. The results clearly indicated that individuals in retrospect perceive their situation as being worse than they realised at the lime. This effect was most marked for scores on the General Health Questionnaire and Chronic Fatigue scale. The results of this study draw attention to a potential confounding in much of the shiftwork literature which demands further, more detailed, investigation.
ISSN:0014-0139
1366-5847
DOI:10.1080/00140139308967886