Absenteeism and the impact of a 38-hour week, rostered day off option.
We undertook a comparative analysis of nurses working in two consecutive years: one in a 40-hour standard working week and the other in a 38-hour week with a rostered day off per month, in order to determine whether there was any effect on absenteeism. We found that total absenteeism between the two years fell significantly from 4.58% to 4.36% (chi 2 = 5.09, P = 0.024). Sick leave decreased but not to a significant degree. We conclude that the change to the 38-hour week and 19-day month (rostered day off) arrangements led to a significant reduction in overall absenteeism but not in sick leave. However, the cost in implementing a 19-day month is far in excess of any savings made through absenteeism reductions.
Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane.
G
G
Williams
K
K
Slater
D000041:Absenteeism; D017046:Cost Savings; D006302:Health Services Research; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D010557:Personnel Administration, Hospital / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011793:Queensland; D018582:Sick Leave; D000078329:Workforce