Open Rota System for Work Scheduling
Author(s): Joanna Pryce, Karen Albertsen, Karina Nielsen Country: Denmark
Is the intervention sector specific?	No
Is the intervention usable with different enterprise sizes?	Yes
Is the intervention equally applicable to both genders?	Yes
Is the intervention based on theory?	Yes
Can the intervention approach be adapted/ tailored?	Yes
Does the intervention promote CSR and how?	Yes, the intervention promotes responsible business practices. It requires impetus from management of companies to be successful.
Does the intervention promote social dialogue and how?	Yes, the intervention draws upon a participatory approach, whereby participants were actively involved throughout the entire intervention process: design, implementation and evaluation.
Overview (including risk assessment and law – legal requirements etc.): The Working Environment Act of 23 December 1975 lays down the functions and responsibilities of the institutions, authorities and persons responsible for the working environment in most sectors. Its objective is to ensure that working conditions are such that workers will not be subject, in the short term, to accident or disease or, in the long term, to physical and psychological problems. The Act makes it compulsory for work to be conducted in such a way that employees’ health and safety are protected. The obligation to produce a result implies findings that means and establishing the sort of relationship between the employers and labour organisations (the social partners) which will ensure that health and safety problems at work are solved and working conditions are improved. As in the case of all other working environment problems, psychosocial issues, according to the policy of the Danish occupational safety and health authorities, best addressed by the management and employees of the enterprise, possibly with assistance from their respective organisations, the occupational health service or other external sources. An approach which can involve multiple stakeholders working together for addressing psychosocial issues is the open-rota system for work scheduling. This approach/intervention was introduced into a Danish psychiatric hospital, with the overall objective of improving employee job satisfaction and work-life balance. Described below is an example of a work scheduling intervention developed to improve work scheduling for nurses; with the broader aim of increasing employee control and influence on their work schedule and, in turn, promote increase job satisfaction and overall experience of work-life balance. This intervention draws upon a participatory approach, whereby participants were actively involved through out the entire intervention process: design, implementation and evaluation
Implementation: Each of the nursing teams, which voluntarily decided to participate in this project, began by forming a steering group, composed of safety, trade union and project representatives. The steering group was supported by a larger project group of 5-6 employees and two external consultants. The external consultants invited the steering groups to attend a one day workshop during which case studies of work scheduling interventions were presented and discussed. Following the workshop, the steering groups in collaboration with the larger project groups discussed and, in turn, identified an appropriate work scheduling intervention to be implemented in the nursing teams. The intervention selected by the majority of the intervention groups was implementing an open-rota system. Within an open-rota system employees are asked to schedule their shift preferences into an open (and uncompleted) rota. When completing their preferred shifts into the open-rota, employees were asked to do so responsibly and fairly (i.e., considering the needs and preferences of the work colleagues and the relief required in other departments). Following which, one or two employees had the responsibility of fine-tuning and finalising the rota; this assigned responsibility was rotated between staff members each week.
Practical applications: The intervention is easily transferable to other teams in other occupational sectors. However, the design and evaluation of the intervention requires external expertise.
Innovative aspects: The intervention uses the knowledge and expertise of the management and employees of the organisation, with assistance from their respective organisations, the occupational health service and other external consultants to address the psychosocial issues, which is in accordance with the policy of the Danish occupational safety and health authorities.
Evaluation (including process issues, outcomes and sustainability): The aim of the evaluation was to assess the impact of an open-rota scheduling system on the health, work-life balance and job satisfaction of nurses working in a psychiatric ward in Denmark. Eight nursing teams volunteered to participate in the study; four of which were randomly allocated to the intervention condition (where the teams implemented the intervention) and the remaining four to the control condition (where the teams did not implement the intervention). The random allocation was done so that the actual effects of the intervention could be compared between the teams implementing and not implementing the intervention. Participants, in both the intervention condition and in the control condition, were asked to complete a questionnaire survey prior to the intervention and 20 months following. Additionally, an evaluation of the process involved in developing, implementing and maintaining the intervention was conducted. This was accomplished by recording ongoing discussions between the researcher and the teams, and a series of interviews conducted with members of the teams to identify the potential barriers and facilitators to the process. The outcome measures, used to assess the effectiveness of the intervention, were indices surrounding work scheduling, work-life balance, and health and wellbeing.
Benefits (including cost effectiveness): The results of the evaluation of the intervention indicate the following observed benefits to the open-rota scheduling system as intervention to enhance employee health, wellbeing, job satisfaction and work-life balance. Employees reported a greater level of satisfaction with their work hours, and, in turn, they were less likely to swap their shift. Additionally, employees working within the open-rota scheduling system reported a significant increase in their work-life balance. Additionally, compared to the non-intervention group (the control group) positive significant differences were observed in the intervention group were: work-life balance, job satisfaction, social support and an overall increase sense of community in the workplace. The results of the process evaluation demonstrated that employees reported that the open-rota system not only saved time, but also provided them with an insight into how the department operated; thereby suggesting a greater influence and greater overall level of satisfaction. Additionally, it was reported that the open-rota system had resulted in a greater understanding by employees of the availability and utilisation of resources; for example, the cost of absenteeism. Furthermore, it was reported that the open-rota system had resulted in an increase in team awareness within the groups. Based on the overall evaluation of the process-based assessment the authors concluded that the new approach to work scheduling took into account the needs and constraints of the individual, the group and the organisation-at-large.
References: Pryce, J., Albertsen, K., & Nielsen, K. (2006). Evaluation of an open-rota system in a Danish psychiatric hospital: a mechanism for improving job satisfaction and work-life balance. Journal of Nursing Management, 14, 282-288.
Comments: The findings of the evaluation of the open-rota system suggest this is an effective intervention to enhance job satisfaction, work-life balance, support and cooperation within nursing teams and is applicable to other teams in other occupational sectors. However, as the intervention requires external expertise, it is not ideally suited for smaller organisations;.