Development and evaluation of a workplace intervention study for promoting employees’ recovery during shift work

Shift work can be demanding due to disturbances of biological and social circadian rhythms. This can cause short-term negative effects for employees, such as increased levels of fatigue and reduced alertness. A potential way to counteract these negative effects is to enhance employees’ recovery from work during working hours. The aim of this study is to develop and implement an intervention that focuses on promoting ‘on-job’ recovery of shift workers.

The study takes place at a multinational company within the steel industry. For each of two departmental units of shift workers, an intervention will be developed and implemented through an iterative process of user-centered design and evaluation. This approach consists of various sessions in which employees and a project group (i.e., researchers, line managers, human resources (HR) managers, occupational health experts) provide input on intervention content and implementation.

The study is designed as a quasi-experimental field study with a waiting list control group, pretest-posttest design. One departmental unit will receive the intervention first, while the other departmental unit waits an additional three months before they can make use of the intervention. To analyze intervention effectiveness, follow-up measurements will be performed three (T1) and six (T2) months after the implementation of the intervention. Digital Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) will be used to gain insight in the link between the intervention and daily within-person processes. Finally, a process evaluation will be carried out to determine factors that may have either enhanced or mitigated the intervention effectiveness. Intervention results will be analyzed performing mixed model repeated measures analyses (MANOVA) and multilevel analyses.

An intervention aimed at improving recovery during work will lead to less fatigue in shiftwork employees.

Measurements will take place at baseline, and 3 and 6 months after implementation of the intervention.

The intervention will be custom-made through a user-centered design approach. Evidence-based recovery practices will be the starting point. Basic needs and requirements of the intervention will be determined in close consultation with the target group.