Looking and listening in a technical world : Effects of discontinuity in work schedules on nurses’ work activity
The structure of work schedules and its effects on the work activity of health care workers in a short-term care facility were analyzed in a context of changes to the Québec health care system. The analysis revealed short patient stays and a great discontinuity in work periods for nursing personnel ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et en Sécurité du Travail (IRSST)
2004-05-01
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| Series: | Perspectives Interdisciplinaires sur le Travail et la Santé |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/pistes/3285 |
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| author | Ana-Maria Seifert Karen Messing |
| author_facet | Ana-Maria Seifert Karen Messing |
| author_sort | Ana-Maria Seifert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The structure of work schedules and its effects on the work activity of health care workers in a short-term care facility were analyzed in a context of changes to the Québec health care system. The analysis revealed short patient stays and a great discontinuity in work periods for nursing personnel : 60 % of health care workers in one department worked for fewer than five shifts per month in this department. Thus, the workers often have little information on patients, and the constant changes in the work teams can affect the strategies that they use to remedy the situation. Since the “technical” aspects of the work cannot be reduced, the more “human” aspects can be compressed. Could this type of work organization diminish caring, thus depriving patients of important human contact and health care workers of their sense of the meaning of their work. Could this loss of meaning affect the absenteeism rate, which is known to be high among nurses ? |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f7cbd16397834cf2a096c5656f7cfcb5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1481-9384 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2004-05-01 |
| publisher | Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et en Sécurité du Travail (IRSST) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Perspectives Interdisciplinaires sur le Travail et la Santé |
| spelling | doaj-art-f7cbd16397834cf2a096c5656f7cfcb52025-01-09T16:01:49ZengInstitut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et en Sécurité du Travail (IRSST)Perspectives Interdisciplinaires sur le Travail et la Santé1481-93842004-05-016110.4000/pistes.3285Looking and listening in a technical world : Effects of discontinuity in work schedules on nurses’ work activityAna-Maria SeifertKaren MessingThe structure of work schedules and its effects on the work activity of health care workers in a short-term care facility were analyzed in a context of changes to the Québec health care system. The analysis revealed short patient stays and a great discontinuity in work periods for nursing personnel : 60 % of health care workers in one department worked for fewer than five shifts per month in this department. Thus, the workers often have little information on patients, and the constant changes in the work teams can affect the strategies that they use to remedy the situation. Since the “technical” aspects of the work cannot be reduced, the more “human” aspects can be compressed. Could this type of work organization diminish caring, thus depriving patients of important human contact and health care workers of their sense of the meaning of their work. Could this loss of meaning affect the absenteeism rate, which is known to be high among nurses ?https://journals.openedition.org/pistes/3285ergonomicscommunicationsnurseswork schedulehealthcare workerswork activity |
| spellingShingle | Ana-Maria Seifert Karen Messing Looking and listening in a technical world : Effects of discontinuity in work schedules on nurses’ work activity Perspectives Interdisciplinaires sur le Travail et la Santé ergonomics communications nurses work schedule healthcare workers work activity |
| title | Looking and listening in a technical world : Effects of discontinuity in work schedules on nurses’ work activity |
| title_full | Looking and listening in a technical world : Effects of discontinuity in work schedules on nurses’ work activity |
| title_fullStr | Looking and listening in a technical world : Effects of discontinuity in work schedules on nurses’ work activity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Looking and listening in a technical world : Effects of discontinuity in work schedules on nurses’ work activity |
| title_short | Looking and listening in a technical world : Effects of discontinuity in work schedules on nurses’ work activity |
| title_sort | looking and listening in a technical world effects of discontinuity in work schedules on nurses work activity |
| topic | ergonomics communications nurses work schedule healthcare workers work activity |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/pistes/3285 |
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