Mohamad Alameddine1, Steffen Otterbach2, Bayan Rafii3, Alfonso Sousa-Poza4. 1. College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Department of Health Management and Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: Mohamad.alameddine@mbru.ac.ae. 2. Institute for Healthcare & Public Management (530), University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. Electronic address: steffen.otterbach@uni-hohenheim.de. 3. Department of Health Management and Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: b.rafii@yahoo.com. 4. Institute for Healthcare & Public Management (530), University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. Electronic address: alfonso.sousa-poza@uni-hohenheim.de.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Work hour constraints (WHC), or the mismatch between desired and actual worktime, can negatively affect work productivity, job satisfaction, worker health and job fluctuations. OBJECTIVES: This study analyzes the WHC trends in the German nursing market between 1990 and 2015. METHODS: Using data from 25 waves (1990-1995 and 1997-2015) of the German Socio-Economic Panel, the contractual, actual, and desired worktime among a representative sample of German nurses (N = 6493) were analyzed. The trends in over/underemployment for full and part-time nurses and the modalities/trends in overtime compensation were analyzed. A Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition was used to explain changes in worktime. RESULTS: Although German nurses' actual and contractual work hours decreased substantially between 1990 and 2015, their desired work hours remained stable (31 h/week), precipitating a persistent gap between actual and desired work hours and an ongoing reliance on overtime. For full-time nurses, the actual work hours consistently exceeded the contracted ones by 3-6 hours. For part-time nurses, the actual and desired work hours have remained very similar, indicating ability to control workforce participation. CONCLUSIONS: WHC remained persistently high over the quarter century studied, with overemployment affecting nearly half of the nursing workforce. Overemployment, resulting primarily from overtime, was high among full-time nurses. Study findings could guide the formulation of programs to optimize German nursing workforce participation.
BACKGROUND: Work hour constraints (WHC), or the mismatch between desired and actual worktime, can negatively affect work productivity, job satisfaction, worker health and job fluctuations. OBJECTIVES: This study analyzes the WHC trends in the German nursing market between 1990 and 2015. METHODS: Using data from 25 waves (1990-1995 and 1997-2015) of the German Socio-Economic Panel, the contractual, actual, and desired worktime among a representative sample of German nurses (N = 6493) were analyzed. The trends in over/underemployment for full and part-time nurses and the modalities/trends in overtime compensation were analyzed. A Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition was used to explain changes in worktime. RESULTS: Although German nurses' actual and contractual work hours decreased substantially between 1990 and 2015, their desired work hours remained stable (31 h/week), precipitating a persistent gap between actual and desired work hours and an ongoing reliance on overtime. For full-time nurses, the actual work hours consistently exceeded the contracted ones by 3-6 hours. For part-time nurses, the actual and desired work hours have remained very similar, indicating ability to control workforce participation. CONCLUSIONS: WHC remained persistently high over the quarter century studied, with overemployment affecting nearly half of the nursing workforce. Overemployment, resulting primarily from overtime, was high among full-time nurses. Study findings could guide the formulation of programs to optimize German nursing workforce participation.