Impacto psicosocial del trabajo a turnos en la calidad de vida laboral

Abstract

This research has a double objective: (1) to study shift workers’ perception on the consecuences work schedule has for their Quality of Life (QoL), as well as to determine the existence of shift work´s potential stressors, and (2) to elaborate a diagnostic instrument to measure shift workers’ stress levels with the aim of applying it on a work context in order to establish interventions that would mitigate, or even avoid, stress. A mixed sequential exploratory design has been chosen in which a first phase was implemented by doing three focus groups with shift workers; the results served as a base for the second phase to drawn its own scale to incorporate into the questionnaire that was implemented in a company from the Galician industrial sector. The results indicate that people who work by shifts perceive their work environment as something disconnected from their needs and preferences. This perception can be changed by listening to their voice and taking into account their proposals, as a way of building an integrative approach in the general planning of work and in the design of healthy work environments. In addition, the construction of a new diagnostic instrument to assess the level of stress at work has made it possible to confirm the dimensions that were proposed as defining QoL in the context of shift work, as well as to identify the dimensions that impact the most on the QOL of people who work in this hourly structure.