From the summary:
Domestic workers play an increasingly significant role in the U.S. economy. Yet the labor of domestic workers is invisible and unregulated. These factors combine to make domestic workers especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse on the job....
...Home Economics: The Invisible and Unregulated World of Domestic Work presents the results of the first national survey of domestic workers in the US. It breaks new ground by providing an empirically based and representative picture of domestic employment in 21st century America. We asked a sample of domestic workers a standardized set of questions focusing in four aspects of the industry:
• pay rates, benefits, and their impact on the lives of workers and their families;
• employment arrangements and employers' compliance with employment agreements;
• workplace conditions, on-the-job injuries, and access to health care;
• abuse at work and the ability to remedy substandard conditions.
We surveyed 2,086 nannies, caregivers, and housecleaners in 14 metropolitan areas. The survey was conducted in nine languages. Domestic workers from 71 countries were interviewed. The study employed a participatory methodology in which 190 domestic workers and organizers from 34 community organizations collaborated in survey design, the fielding of the survey, and the preliminary analysis of the data.
See also:
- Key Findings
- Recommendations
- Explore the Data
Shows the results of the 2011 survey, which has a 38% response rate. Covers police and fire shift length, workweek, service delivery, salaries, and expenditures.
]]>From the abstract:
The association between overtime work and depression is still unclear. This study examined the association between overtime work and the onset of a major depressive episode (MDE).... Data from middle-aged civil servants suggest that working long hours of overtime may predispose to major depressive episodes...
Sociologists say that companies are realizing that productivity goes up if employees feel like they can put smartphones down once they leave the workplace.
]]>Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) working in nursing homes are at significant risk for work-related injuries, but little is known about the frequency and types of such injuries and how assistive equipment such as patient lifts affect injury rates. This study uses 2004 data from the National Nursing Assistant Survey and the National Nursing Home Survey to analyze the prevalence, nature, and predictors of these injuries among CNAs working in US nursing homes. The study found that 60.2 percent of all CNAs nationally reported a work-related injury in the year prior to the survey; among injured CNAs, 65.8 percent reported being injured more than once in the past year, 16 percent required a transfer to light duty work, and 24 percent were unable to work because of their injury. The reported injuries varied in nature and included scratches, open wounds, back injuries, black eyes and other bruising, human bites, and strained or pulled muscles. In examining predictors of injury, the study found that although assistive equipment was readily available and often used, it was not associated with lower rates of workforce injuries. New workers, workers who change jobs more frequently, those reporting poor job preparation, workers who received lower wages, workers who felt that they had inadequate time to provide personal care, and those working mandatory overtime were more likely to have a workplace injury. CNAs who worked in facilities where they felt respected and rewarded for their work and where the organization valued their work were less likely to report an injury.
]]>From the abstract:
Despite the well-documented benefits of flexible work schedules (flextime), generalizable assessments of how flextime influences organizational profitability have proven elusive. Using a unique data set representative of organizations in Canada, we examine the effect of flextime in combination with organizational strategies to predict profitability. Using fixed effects and controlling for prior profitability, we find that flextime increases profitability when implemented within a strategy centered on employees but decreases profitability when implemented within a strategy focused on cost reduction.
Nurses that work third shift, or alternate shifts, should take heed of a new study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), of Boston, that reinforces the finding that too little sleep, or sleep patterns that are inconsistent with our body's "internal biological clock," may lead to increased risk of diabetes and obesity.
This finding has been seen in short-term lab studies and when observing human subjects via epidemiological studies. However, unlike epidemiological studies, this new study provides support by examining humans in a controlled lab environment over a prolonged period, and altering the timing of sleep, mimicking shift work or recurrent jet lag. ...
...The researchers saw that prolonged sleep restriction with simultaneous circadian disruption decreased the participants' resting metabolic rate. Moreover, during this period, glucose concentrations in the blood increased after meals, because of poor insulin secretion by the pancreas.
According to researchers, a decreased resting metabolic rate could translate into a yearly weight gain of over 10 pounds if diet and activity are unchanged. Increased glucose concentration and poor insulin secretion could lead to an increased risk for diabetes. ...
See also:
Adverse Metabolic Consequences in Humans of Prolonged Sleep Restriction Combined with Circadian Disruption
Source: Orfeu M. Buxton, Sean W. Cain, Shawn P. O'Connor, James H. Porter, Jeanne F. Duffy, Wei Wang, Charles A. Czeisler, and Steven A. Shea, Science Translational Medicine, Vol. 4 no. 129, 11 April 2012
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From the summary:
This report presents the results of the first known comprehensive randomized experiment of CWWs in law enforcement. The Police Foundation experiment was designed to test the impacts of three shift lengths (8-, 10-, and 12-hour) on performance, health, safety, quality of life, sleep, fatigue, alertness, off-duty employment, and overtime among police. In addition to scientifically rigorous research design and methodology, the number of reliable outcome measures employed to analyze the impact of shift length, including departmental data, laboratory simulations and exercises, and previously validated self-report instruments, make this study one of the most comprehensive ever undertaken in this area. The experiment was conducted in the Detroit (MI) and Arlington (TX) Police Departments between January 2007 and June 2009.
The study found some distinct advantages of 10-hour shifts and identified some disadvantages associated with 12-hour shifts that are concerning. It is important that agencies implement strategies and policies that are evidence based, and the findings of this study provide important information for law enforcement leaders and other policy makers to consider when examining both the most efficient and effective practices for their agency, as well as the safety and quality of life of their personnel and the public they serve.
See also:
- Trends in Shift Length: Results of a Random National Survey of Police Agencies
Source: Karen L. Amendola, Meghan G. Slipka, Edwin E. Hamilton, Police Foundation, December 2011
- Law Enforcement Shift Schedules: Results of a 2005 Random National Survey of Police Agencies
Source: Karen L. Amendola. Edwin E. Hamilton, Laura A. Wyckoff, Police Foundation, May 2006; revised November 2011
- Law Enforcement Shift Schedules: Results of a 2009 Random National Survey of Police Agencies
Source: Karen L. Amendola, Meghan G. Slipka, Edwin E. Hamilton, Michael Soelberg, Police Foundation, November 2011
- The Impact of Shift Length in Policing on Performance, Health, Quality of Life, Sleep, Fatigue, and Extra-Duty Employment
Karen L. Amendola, David Weisburd, Edwin E. Hamilton, Greg Jones, Meghan Slipka, Police Foundation, December 2011, Executive summary
During the past two months, private-duty trade associations have produced three different studies designed to bolster their position that narrowing the overtime exemption would have serious negative consequences for home care companies, clients, and workers. Yet each of these studies presents serious flaws.
In two surveys of their membership, these associations had the opportunity to acquire solid industry data on the employment patterns of home care workers: how many work overtime, and how often; how many work part-time and would like to work more; and how much they are paid. This kind of information could have usefully complemented the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) analysis, which relied on all the nationally representative, statistically valid data available on these questions. So, what do the new studies tell us?
Related:
- 2012 Companionship Services Exemption Survey
Source: Private Duty Homecare Association (PDHCA) an affiliate of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), and the National Private Duty Association, January 23, 2012
- Economic Impact of Eliminating the FLSA Exemption for Companionship Services
Source: IHS Global Insight, February 21, 2012
- Estimating the Economic Impact of Repealing the FLSA Companion Care Exemption
Source: Jeffrey A. Eisenach, Kevin W. Caves, Navigant Economics, March 6, 2012
A new ranking conducted for Sleepy's, the Mattress Professionals, points to those jobs where workers report the shortest sleep time. The Shortest-Sleep Jobs list is based on an independent analysis of individual sleep habits as reported in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The data reveals the following sleep patterns among America's workers -- none of whom attain the 8- hours we were all taught to strive for. The list is presented with the shortest sleepers at the top.
1. Home Health Aides
2. Lawyers
3. Police Officers
4. Physicians, Paramedics
5. Economists
6. Social Workers
7. Computer Programmers
8. Financial Analysts
9. Plant Operators
10. Secretaries
Related:
- Pair of HMS Studies Examine Sleep
Source: Benjamin M. Scuderi, Harvard Crimson, September 07, 2011
- National Health Interview Survey
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- New Study Reveals Link Between American Office Workers' Sleep Habits and Next Day Workplace Performance
Source PR Newswire, December 14, 2010
From the abstract:
This study aimed to examine the relationship between job stress/work schedules (JS/WS) and obesity among nurses. Job stress and shift work are known risk factors for obesity, yet comprehensive measures of JS/WS in relation to nurse obesity have been little investigated. Approximately 55% of the sample was overweight/obese (OW/OB). When compared with underweight/normal weight nurses, OW/OB nurses reported that their jobs had less physical exertion and more limited movement. Long work hours were significantly associated with being OW/OB as compared with underweight/normal. Findings suggest interventions to limit adverse work schedules. Access to healthy food and optimal meal breaks should be investigated.
From the summary:
A new PHI report examines how three home care companies have successfully managed to control their overtime costs while maintaining their reputation for high-quality care.
The report, Can Home Care Companies Manage Overtime Hours? Three Successful Models, discredits home care industry claims that the Obama Administration's proposal to revise the companionship exemption to extend minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers would dramatically increase agencies' overtime costs, since any overtime worked by aides would have to be compensated at time and half
]]>This article reports the findings of a case study that examines the effect of compressed work scheduling on the overall organizational efficiency of a medium size police department. An efficient scheduling design is one that utilizes a high percentage of employees during busy times and fewer employees during slower times. Efficient scheduling is important because it can mitigate the problems associated with understaffing including tired employees, increased overtimes, and strained officer and citizen relations. This investigation examined the efficiency of four work scheduling proposals. Two of these were compressed scheduling plans and two were traditional designs. The examination found that a proposed 8-hour plan was the most efficient schedule analyzed. Its staffing patterns closely followed fluctuations in call volume, with more officers working during busy times and fewer during slower times. Statistical analysis establish that this model is significantly better than a 12-hour model currently used by the department, or a 8-hour scheduling plan used by the department in 1999. A proposed 10-hour model was found to be the second most efficient. Although not statistically different from other models, its staffing levels generally followed call volume patterns especially during late night peak times.
]]>From the abstract:
Rotating night shift work disrupts circadian rhythms and has been associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and glucose dysregulation. However, its association with type 2 diabetes remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate this association in two cohorts of US women....Our results suggest that an extended period of rotating night shift work is associated with a modestly increased risk of type 2 diabetes in women, which appears to be partly mediated through body weight. Proper screening and intervention strategies in rotating night shift workers are needed for prevention of diabetes.
related:
- Shift Work as a Risk Factor for Future Type 2 Diabetes: Evidence, Mechanisms, Implications, and Future Research Directions
Source: Mika Kivimäki, G. David Batty, Christer Hublin, PLoS Medicine, Vol. 8 no. 12, December 2011
- Editorial: Poor Diet in Shift Workers: A New Occupational Health Hazard?
Source: PLoS Medicine Editors, PLoS Medicine, Vol. 8 no. 12, December 2011