Shift Work and Quality of Personal, Professional, and Family Life among Health Care Workers in a Rehabilitation Center in Greece

CONTEXT: Adverse work schedules and conditions may affect the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of workers, impairing quality of life and causing conflict between family and work roles. AIMS: To compare quality of life, professional quality of life (ProQOL), and work/family conflict (WFC) between shift workers and nonshift workers and explore possible associations with demographic characteristics. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: : A cross-sectional study was conducted in a rehabilitation center in Central Greece, recording demographic, occupational, and family characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants answered the World Health Organization-5 Well-Being Index, the ProQOL questionnaire [compassion satisfaction (CS), and the burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress scales], and the WFC scale. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 19.0 for Windows. RESULTS: Ninety-one employees (68.7% shift workers) participated, with mean age 33.5. Females reported higher compassion/satisfaction level (P = 0.031). Nursing profession was associated with higher levels of BO (P = 0.021), impact of work to family life (P = 0.008), and impact of family to work (FtW), and WFC (P = 0.008). Parenthood increased the impact of FtW (P = 0.008) and predispose to WFC (P = 0.023). In general, wellbeing was significantly correlated with CS (r = 0.368, P < 0.01), BO (r = −0.538, P < 0.01), and levels of WFC (P = 0.003). Work and family roles conflict was statistically significantly correlated with levels of BO (r = 0.497, P < 0.01), and CS (r = −0.288, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The interaction between general, professional, and family quality of life can guide interventions in the workplace in order to improve workers' quality of life and promote workers' health.