title: Can varying the number of teams in a shift schedule constitute a preventive strategy?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study examines the implications for shiftworkers of applying different numbers of teams in the organization of shiftwork.
  
  
  METHODS
  The participating operators came from five different companies applying continuous shift rotation systems. The companies shared the same product organization and a common corporate culture belonging to the same multinational company. Each company had a shift system consisting of four, five or six teams, with the proportion of shifts outside day work decreasing as the number of teams increased. Questionnaire and documentary data were used as data sources.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Operators in systems with additional teams had more daywork but also more irregular working hours due to both overtime and schedule changes. Operators using six teams used fewer social compensation strategies. Operators in four teams were most satisfied with their work hours. Satisfaction with the time available for various social activities outside work varied inconsistently between the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In rotating systems the application of more teams reduces the number of shifts outside day work. This apparent improvement for shiftworkers was counteracted by a concomitant irregularity produced by greater organizational requirements for flexibility. The balance of this interaction was found to have a critical impact on employees.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Aarhus, Denmark. jeppe@psy.au.dk
authors.forename: Hans Jeppe
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Jeppesen
authors.forename: Magnar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kleiven
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bøggild
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000523:psychology*; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology