Impact of a change in rostering practices on absenteeism: An observational descriptive study

Background: There was a change in rostering practice from a regular three-shift system to an irregular three-shift system.Objective: This study observed the trend of absenteeism before and after a change in rostering practice.Methods: An observational design was used to collect sick-leave data from six months before the change in rostering practice to 12 months after. The average number of sick-leave days per month before and after the change were compared. Data for nursing hours per patient day (NHPPD) were also collected.Results: An increase in the number of sick-leave days was seen in three out of five wards following the change in rostering practice. Average sick leave across the five wards increased from 173.7 days per month before the change to 213.4 days per month after the change. Data for NHPPD showed no drastic change in manpower (e.g. resignation/training leave) during this period.Conclusions: There was an observed increase in absenteeism following the change in the rostering practice of nurses.