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Effects of the implementation of an 84-hour workweek on neurobehavioral test performance and cortisol responsiveness during testing.

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Author

  • Roger Persson
  • Palle Örbaek
  • Holger Ursin
  • Göran Kecklund
  • Kai Österberg
  • Torbjörn Akerstedt

Summary, in English

OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether long workhours in combination with an extended workweek (12 hours/7 days), as requested by the workers, impaired attention and cognitive performance and whether the degree of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation was related to the response to the performance tasks. METHODS: A group of 41 male construction workers between 21 and 60 (mean 39) years of age who worked 84 hours a week, with alternate weeks off, was compared with a group of 23 male construction workers between 24 and 65 (mean 43) years of age who had a traditional 40-hour work schedule. Neurobehavioral test performance, self-ratings of fatigue and sleepiness, and salivary cortisol levels were evaluated in a counterbalanced repeated-measures design. RESULTS: The 84-hour group did not show any signs of reduced test performance or elevated fatigue and sleepiness. The 84-hour group had faster reaction times on day 7 than on days 1 and 5. Although the expected activation of the HPA axis was only found in the total study sample when workdays 1 and 5 were collapsed, the HPA activation can be considered normal. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that an 84-hour work regimen in response to requests from workers does not induce more performance deficits than an ordinary 40-hour workweek. An extended work schedule of 84 hours cannot in the short-term be considered to affect basic mental capabilities negatively.

Publishing year

2003

Language

English

Pages

261-269

Publication/Series

Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health

Volume

29

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

Topic

  • Environmental Health and Occupational Health

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0355-3140