The New York Times-20080129-Nonstandard Work Shifts May Hinder Recovery

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Nonstandard Work Shifts May Hinder Recovery

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Patching up injured workers and sending them back to work after some time off and physical rehabilitation may be fine if they have ordinary jobs.

But if they routinely work longer hours or are assigned to evening or night shifts, it may be asking for trouble, a new study finds.

When those employees are injured on the job, the study says, the medical professionals involved in their treatment may need to think about easing them back into the workplace. The study, which was led by Allard E. Dembe of Ohio State University, appeared in a recent issue of The Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.

Just working a nonstandard shift is enough to increase the chances that a worker will be injured on the job, the researchers say. Part of the explanation, experts believe, may lie in the disruption these kinds of hours cause to the body's natural clock.

The researchers found that employees who worked 60 or more hours a week or unusual shifts were 70 percent more likely than other workers returning from injuries who work regular hours to quit after returning from an injury and 81 percent more likely to be fired. Many ended up having to work shorter shifts.

The increased fatigue or stress inherent in working long hours and nonstandard shift schedules, for example, might place special demands on injured workers, the researchers wrote.

The findings were based on a review of 13 years of data from a study sponsored by the federal government.

[Illustration]DRAWING (DRAWING BY STUART GOLDENBERG)