Shiftwork and personal control: Towards a conceptual framework

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Abstract
This paper proposes a framework that explores the complex relationships between personal control and shiftwork practices. The perception and execution of control by the working individual are increasingly posited to be important and influential factors in occupational research. At an organizational level of analysis, constraints on control in terms of the opportunity to influence work hours have been suggested to moderate the impact of unusual work hours on the lives of shiftworkers. Subjective perceptions of control are also posited to affect the experienced stressfulness of the work setting. A theoretically grounded model is presented. This model suggests interactive effects between objective shift system controllability and features of personal control upon individual and organizational outcome variables. At an individual level these include health, sleep, alertness, and performance; organizational outcome variables include absenteeism, turnover, productivity, and safety. Aspects of the model and its practical and theoretical implications are discussed.