Sonntagsarbeit - Auswirkungen auf Sicherheit Gesundheit und Work-Life-Balance der Beschäftigten

摘要

During the last decades the number of employees working in flexible and/or unsocial hours (e.g., on evenings and weekends) has substantially increased. However, working on weekends can reduce both recovery time and interfere with the social rhythm in our society, thus reducing the amount of socially valuable hours available. According to the social rhythm, the utility of time for social and leisure activities is usually rated higher in the evenings and on weekends, with the highest values on Sundays. Thus, working on Sundays should lead to severe impairments to psychosocial well-being, to a reduction in the quality of and time for recovery from work-related strain, as well as to a reduction of social commitments. However, only very few studies have addressed possible safety, health, and social effects of work on Sundays yet. Furthermore, the effects of working on Sundays and working in shifts, which often includes work on Sundays, have not been separated yet. The objectives of our study were therefore to investigate in two large and representative samples of the European workforce, whether working on Sundays increases the risk of impairments to (1) occupational safety, e.g. as expressed in the incidence of accidents, (2) general health, and (3) work-life balance, while controlling for different important confounders. Two representative samples of employed workers in the 15 original member states of the European Union served as the data base for a cross-sectional analysis. The samples were collected via face-to-face interviews in the year 2000 (EU 2000) and 2005 (EU 2005) and contained data of n=17,910 and n=12,288 individuals in 2000 and 2005, respectively. The surveys included questions on working conditions, several work schedule characteristics, and the individual personal situation (e.g., demographic information, time lost due to an occupational accident in the last 12 months, subjective health impairments, subjective compatibility between working hours and private/ leisure commitments as an indicator of the work-life balance (WLB)). The increases in the risks of occupational accidents, health impairments, and decreases in WLB due to work on Sundays (coded in "no Sunday work" and "at least 1 Sunday/ month") were calculated using analysis of variance and logistic regression models, controlling for potential confounders: demographic characteristics, work load intensity, autonomy, shift work, and other work schedule components (working on at least 1 Saturday, evening, and/or night per month, and the usual number of weekly working hours). The results indicate that working on one or more Sundays per month substantially increases both the risk of reporting one or more health impairments and a poor WLB. The risk of health problems was increased by 23-46 % in individuals working on Sundays compared to those without Sunday work, whereas working on Sunday was associated with an increase in risk of a poor WLB of 49-59 %. These effects remained after controlling for all potentially confounding factors. Furthermore, working on Sundays was also related to an increased risk in occupational accidents within the last year, with Sunday work increasing the accident risk by 28-33 % as opposed to no work on Sundays. This result remained after controlling for shift work and the a priori accident risk of different job types, However, controlling for all potential confounders, an increase in the accident risk could only be detected for working at least 1 Saturday per month but not for working on Sundays. However, occupational accidents are rare events, and thus carry only a small amount of variance. It can thus be assumed that the model used was too conservative and did not leave enough variance to be explained by work on Sundays. Limitations of the present study include common problems with subjective and cross-sectional data, and using only average work schedules. On the other hand, the present study has several strengths: Data from two large and representative samples of the European work force allow for a generalization of the results to the population of employed workers in the European Union. Due to the large samples sizes occupational accidents were reported at a sufficient number for appropriate statistical analyses. Furthermore, strong control models have been used, controlling for other explanatory and confounding factors. The results thus indicate that detrimental effects of work on Sundays on safety, health, and well-being should be taken into account when designing work schedules. These potential hazards should in particular be considered in discussions concerning extending work on Sundays in certain branches, e.g. in the retail sector. The results of this study can be used in the design of working schedules in order to reduce or minimize the risk of safety, health, or social impairments for the employees. From a business perspective this can decrease costs for employers via a reduction in time lost due to occupational accidents and illnesses. Furthermore, improving the compatibility of working hours with private commitments can increase the attractiveness of companies as employers.%Obwohl die Anzahl der Beschäftigten in biologisch und sozial ungünstigen Arbeitszeiten stetig steigt, liegen bislang nur äußerst wenige Erkenntnisse zu den Effekten der Arbeit am Wochenende, und insbesondere an Sonntagen, auf die Sicherheit, Gesundheit und soziale Teilhabe der Beschäftigten vor. Die vorliegende Studie demonstriert anhand der Daten aus zwei großen und repräsentativen europäischen Umfragen, dass Arbeit an Sonntagen das Risiko für arbeitsbedingte Unfälle sowie gesundheitliche und soziale Beeinträchtigungen deutlich erhöht. Diese Zusammenhänge lassen sich auch nach der Kontrolle potenziell konfundierender Effekte nachweisen. Das durch Sonntagsarbeit offensichtlich erhöhte Risiko für die Gefährdung von Arbeitsschutzzielen sollte daher in der Diskussion um die gesetzlichen Spielräume für die Sonntagsarbeit, z. B. im Einzelhandel, wie bei einer möglichen Revision der europäischen Arbeitszeitrichtlinie sowie insbesondere bei der Gestaltung der konkreten Arbeitszeiten auf jeden Fall angemessen berücksichtigt werden. Die Erkenntnisse dieser Studie können dazu genutzt werden, die Arbeitszeiten so zu gestalten, dass Risiken für die Sicherheit, Gesundheit und soziale Beeinträchtigungen der Beschäftigten verringert oder minimiert werden. Dies kann auf der betrieblichen Seite sowohl zu einer Kostenreduktion beitragen, etwa durch die Verringerung von unfall- und krankheitsbedingten Fehlzeiten, als auch zu einer Erhöhung der Attraktivität der Unternehmen für die Beschäftigten, z. B. durch eine verbesserte Vereinbarkeit von beruflichen und privaten Interessen. Die Erkenntnisse sollten darüber hinaus in die Diskussion um die gesetzliche Festlegung der Spielräume für Sonntagsarbeit einbezogen werden.