Overtime and Extended Work Shifts

<p>The average number of hours worked annually by workers in the United States has increased steadily over the past several decades and currently surpasses that of Japan and most of Western Europe. The influence of overtime and extended work shifts on worker health and safety as well as on worker errors is gaining increased attention from the scientific community labor representatives and industry. U.S. hours of service limits have been regulated for the transportation sector for many years. In recent years a number of states have been considering legislation to limit mandatory overtime for health care workers. The volume of legislative activity seen nationwide indicates a heightened level of societal concern and the timeliness of the issue.<br><br>This document summarizes recent scientific findings concerning the relationship between overtime and extended work shifts on worker health and safety. The number of studies increased dramatically over the past few years but important research questions remain. I am confident that this document will contribute to an informed discussion of these issues and provide a basis for further research and analysis.<br><br>This report provides an integrative review of 52 recently published research reports that examine the associations between long working hours and illnesses injuries health behaviors and performance. The report is restricted to a description of the findings and methods and is not intended as an exhaustive discussion of all important issues related to long working hours. Findings and methods are summarized as reported by the original authors and the study methods are not critically evaluated for quality.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>