Towards evidence based psychosocial interventions to support workers in reducing the health and wellbeing impacts of working shifts

Abstract

Shift work is becoming more prevalent as a working pattern, with current literature suggesting that working shifts may negatively impact on many aspects of health and wellbeing. Following requests from organisations for public health support in this area, a systematic review was completed to identify psychosocial interventions that may support shift workers. The systematic review highlighted the paucity of psychosocial interventions that have been developed for shift workers, which led to the development of this research study.
This qualitative research investigated the challenges of shift work and health and wellbeing issues for staff and their managers working within an aeronautical organisation. Thematic analysis identified three themes and five sub-themes. The themes explored issues around isolation, gendered health norms and who is taking responsibility for the health of the shift workers. Potential psychosocial interventions that may support the shift workers are explored from a health psychology prospective