EFFECTS ON HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING OF ON-CALL SHIFTS - AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC-STUDY IN THE FRENCH-NATIONAL-ELECTRICITY-AND-GAS-SUPPLY-COMPANY

An investigation of the effects on health and social well-being of on- call shift work to cover emergencies outside working hours has been ca rried out by Electricite de France-Gaz de France, the French national company that supplies gas and electricity. This transversal survey com pared a group of workers exposed to on-call shift work (n = 145) with a group that was not (n = 195). Each subject completed a questionnaire about the demands of his work, state of health, psychologic equilibri um using the Langner scale, and the impact of his job on social and fa mily life. A ''weekly report form,'' completed for 3 consecutive weeks randomly selected using a sampling plan covering the entire year to t ake into account seasonal variations, was subsequently filled in by 11 5 of the group exposed to on-call shift work and 167 of those who were not, to investigate events occurring outside working hours and sleep. The findings show that the main demands of being on-call were telepho ne calls, which were five times more numerous during the weeks on-call ; this was accompanied by a shorter sleeping time (a mean of 6.8 hours versus 7.4 hours during a normal week) and more frequent tiredness on waking up (25.7% vs 13.2%). No particular disorder was found more fre quently in the exposed group, but the psychologic equilibrium and fami ly and social life of the workers in the on-call shift group were dist urbed: some variables in the questionnaire and indices calculated from some items revealed adverse effects. Analysis of the frequency of on- call shifts showed that these effects were greater the more frequently the subject was on-call (linear tendency test significant or nearly s ignificant). These findings lead us to suggest an improved organizatio n of the on-call shifts outside working hours and an extension of the intervals between on-call shifts.