Unpredictable working time, well-being and health in the police service
研究警察工作时间不可预测性如何通过工作-生活冲突和压力影响健康行为与症状，并考察弹性工作安排和饮酒的调节作用。
The unpredictability of working time is a seldom studied feature of employment. This paper proposes that unpredictability in scheduling is associated with greater employee work-life conflict and perceived stress. This, in turn, has implications for health behaviour (alcohol consumption, sleep disturbance) and symptoms (digestive and cardiovascular problems). Increasing employee control through flexible working arrangements (FWA) is examined as a potential moderator. We also examine the possibility that alcohol consumption exacerbates the negative effects of unpredictability on well-being and health. A survey of 1207 police officers, for whom working unsocial hours is commonly accepted, showed direct effects of unpredictability over and above nonstandard hours on digestive health, and indirect effects through well-being on sleep, digestive and cardiovascular health. In some cases, these indirect effects were reduced or absent with greater employee control through FWA, although this was not uniform. Alcohol consumption intensified the effects of unpredictability on well-being and some health outcomes. As well as highlighting unpredictability as a key dimension of working time quality, the findings reflect a tension between employer-centred scheduling strategies for enhancing workforce flexibility and HRM practices, such as FWA, which purport to provide employees with greater control and work-life balance.