A1697 Development of recovery over time after compressed and extended working weeks in the Norwegian offshore petroleum industry

Monday, March 19, 2012: 14:35
Isla Mujeres 2 (Cancun Center)

Suzanne Merkus, Occupational Health and Sickness Absence, International Research Institute Of Stavanger/emgo+ Institute, Stavanger, Norway
K. A. Holte, Occupational Health and Sickness Absence, International Research Institute of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
A. J. Van Der Beek, Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU University Medical Center, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, Netherlands
W. Van Mechelen, Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU University Medical Center, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Introduction
Recovery after shift work is prolonged in comparison to day work, and is theorised to play a role in the onset of ill health. Most studies, however, have studied short free periods of a few days, while the actual duration of recovery and its development over time remain unknown. Compressed and extended shift schedules are ideal for following recovery over time due to the long free periods inherent to these schedules. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of 4 recovery indicators over a prolonged period of time after compressed and extended shifts.

Methods
An exploratory study with repeated measures was conducted amongst male Norwegian petroleum employees after working compressed and extended shift schedules. The main criterion for inclusion was having guardianship over children younger than 18 years. The employees were followed during their free period for 14 consecutive days using a diary on sleep quality, mental fatigue, physical fatigue and feeling rested. Development over time of the outcome measures were analysed using generalised estimating equations. The analysis was done with a quarter of the total sample (N=40), as data was being gathered at time of writing.

Results
All recovery indicators showed a significant development over time towards recovery (p< 0.001). The highest speed of recovery was at the beginning of the free period from days 1 – 4, after which a gradual progression to recovery was seen up until day 14. However, all recovery indicators showed a slight regression towards non-recovery on different days between days 6-10.

Discussion
The findings suggest that usage of short recovery periods is questionable, as recovery took place until 14 days in this study. The explanatory value of other variables, including work-family-balance, recovery activities and shift schedules on the development of recovery over time, remain to be explored when the data set is complete. 

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