Working at night and work ability among nursing personnel: when precarious employment makes the difference.
OBJECTIVE
To test the association between night work and work ability, and verify whether the type of contractual employment has any influence over this association.


METHODS
Permanent workers (N = 642) and workers with precarious jobs (temporary contract or outsourced; N = 552) were interviewed and filled out questionnaires concerning work hours and work ability index. They were classified into: never worked at night, ex-night workers, currently working up to five nights, and currently working at least six nights/2-week span.


RESULTS
After adjusting for socio-demography and work variables, current night work was significantly associated with inadequate WAI (vs. day work with no experience in night work) only for precarious workers (OR 2.00, CI 1.01-3.95 and OR 1.85, CI 1.09-3.13 for those working up to five nights and those working at least six nights in 2 weeks, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Unequal opportunities at work and little experience in night work among precarious workers may explain their higher susceptibility to night work.
Rotenberg
Lucia
L
Laboratory of Health and Environment Education, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Av. Brasil 4365, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21045-900, Brazil. rotenber@ioc.fiocruz.br
Griep
Rosane Harter
RH
Fischer
Frida Marina
FM
Fonseca
Maria de Jesus Mendes
Mde J
Landsbergis
Paul
P
D000328:Adult; D003284:Contract Services; D004651:Employment / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology