Flexible Working Arrangements in Continuous Shift Production
| Published date | 01 March 1978 |
| Pages | 12-19 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb055363 |
| Date | 01 March 1978 |
| Author | W. McEwan Young |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Flexible Working Arrangements in
Continuous Shift Production
W. McEwan Young
Lecturer
in Continuing Management
Education,
Department
of
Management
Studies,
Loughborough University
of Technology
Abstract
The application of flexibility to shift systems of working
has generally been limited to individual arrangements
between 'opposite numbers' on other shifts. This article
describes a successful experiment to design and implement
a flexible system that greatly extends the discretion
accorded to operatives on shiftwork in their overall use of
time.
The scheme appears to be unique in that over 1,500
production workers are involved in operating a scheme
that was largely designed by themselves.
Introduction
Although few countries publish regular statistics on shift-
work, it has been suggested that, in industrialised countries,
the number of shiftworkers varies from 15 to 30 per
cent of the working population and that, on average, half
of all shiftworkers are employed on three shift systems.
Perhaps it is even more significant that between 1954 and
1974 the growth in the number of shiftworkers was in
the order of 100 per cent. [
1
]
Despite the opposition of certain trade unions to the
extension of shiftworking, it is unlikely that we will see an
early adoption, by other countries, of the recent decree
of the French government that there is to be no further
extension of shiftwork except where it is absolutely
necessary on account of technological factors.[2] What is
more likely is that governments, employers and unions
will look for other measures to alleviate the social, mental
and physiological problems brought about by shiftwork.
This certainly appears to be a more realistic approach, if
only because the technological, cost and demand factors
associated with the adoption of shiftwork are likely to
increase rather than decrease. Certainly, as far as the UK is
concerned, it appears that the most important factor
contributing to the growth of shiftwork has been increasing
scale of production allied to rising capital intensity[3] and
this is likely to continue. The possibility has also been
mooted of using an extension of shiftworking to combat
high unemployment in countries with low capital invest-
ment and some work has been done estimating the per-
centage employment expansion when changing from one
to two twelve-hour shifts.[4] However, few attempts have
been made to estimate the effects, on employment, of
multiple shiftwork in practice, but the possibility of using
shiftwork as an employment-creating device cannot be
discounted.
Given the social disadvantages of shiftworking (apart from
the physiological and mental problems) it is remarkable
that a supply of labour always appears to be available.
This is perhaps understandable where a number of shift-
working continuous process industries are concentrated
in one particular geographical location, and shiftworking
has come to be regarded as the norm. In other cases,
recruitment of labour can raise problems of recruitment
and retention, in addition to the high shift premia that
will have to be paid.
Thus shift workers have always seen themselves as dis-
advantaged compared with their colleagues on regular day
work. And now that the shiftworking population is not
only expanding in numbers but changing in character
(for example, many employees in data processing, essential
services, communications etc. now find themselves involved
in round-the-clock shiftwork) the social differentials are
more sharply defined. The likely effect of these changes
is that employers will find it increasingly difficult, in future,
to persuade potential employees to trade off the
inconvenience of a different pattern of leisure from the rest
of the community against higher earnings. And even in
those areas where shiftworking is accepted as a traditional
way of life, a rearrangement of shift patterns and practices
may have to be attempted so that they more adequately
meet the social needs of the employees. It is significant
that the UK Prices and Incomes Board has called for
research into the effect that different hourly working
patterns have on individual shiftworkers.
In recent years the development of new approaches to work
-week structures has received considerable attention.
Flexible working hours, staggered hours and the compressed
work week have indicated that less rigid approaches to the
management of time, at the workplace, can be implemented
without any necessary loss of productivity.[5] However,
there has been a general consensus that, while the com-
pressed week has attractions for those working shifts (for
example, in the UK there is a strong preference for four-
night shifts per week in the motor industry), very little
flexibility could be offered the individual shiftworker within
the pattern of shifts being worked. Thus we have had a
situation developing, in recent years, where shiftworkers
see themselves being more and more disadvantaged socially,
as an increasing number of single shiftworkers move on to
flexible working hours. And if, as is indicated[6] flexible
schedules can be applied, in 'blue-collar' as well as 'white-
collar' work situations, the feeling of social deprivation may
very well increase sharply among shift workers.
What now follows is a description of an attempt to inject
flexibility into a continuous shiftworking operation at a
large food processing and canning factory, in response to
a demand from the shopfloor shiftworkers. They saw the
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