Open AccessGuiding principles for determining work shift duration and addressing the effects of work shift duration on performance, safety, and health: guidance from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society
Author(s) -
Indira Gurubhagavatula,
Laura K. Barger,
Christopher M. Barnes,
Mathias Basner,
Diane B. Boivin,
Drew Dawson,
Christopher L. Drake,
Erin E. FlynnEvans,
Vincent Mysliwiec,
P. Daniel Patterson,
Kathryn J. Reid,
Charles Samuels,
Nita Lewis Shattuck,
Uzma Kazmi,
Gerard Carandang,
Jonathan L. Heald,
Hans P. A. Van Dongen
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of clinical sleep medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1550-9397
pISSN - 1550-9389
DOI - 10.5664/jcsm.9512
Subject(s) - alertness , duration (music) , work (physics) , shift work , medicine , occupational safety and health , risk analysis (engineering) , applied psychology , sleep (system call) , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , computer science , psychology , medical emergency , engineering , psychiatry , mechanical engineering , art , literature , pathology , operating system
Risks associated with fatigue that accumulates during work shifts have historically been managed through working time arrangements that specify fixed maximum durations of work shifts and minimum durations of time off. By themselves, such arrangements are not sufficient to curb risks to performance, safety, and health caused by misalignment between work schedules and the biological regulation of waking alertness and sleep. Science-based approaches for determining shift duration and mitigating associated risks, while addressing operational needs, require: (1) a recognition of the factors contributing to fatigue and fatigue-related risks; (2) an understanding of evidence-based countermeasures that may reduce fatigue and/or fatigue-related risks; and (3) an informed approach to selecting workplace-specific strategies for managing work hours. We propose a series of guiding principles to assist stakeholders with designing a shift duration decision-making process that effectively balances the need to meet operational demands with the need to manage fatigue-related risks.