An evaluation of morningness and schedule misfit using the revised Preferences Scale (PS-6): Implications for work and health outcomes among healthcare workers

ABSTRACT

The last several decades of shift work tolerance and circadian misalignment research has had mixed results regarding the adverse impact of shift work on work and health outcomes. This inconsistency is, in part, due to the circadian typology measure employed and the study methodology. Based on models of shift work and health, the present study examined associations between circadian misalignment, end-of-day strain, and job- and health-related outcomes using the revised Preferences Scale (PS-6). A sample of 129 healthcare workers (76.7% female) from the United States (67%) and Australia (34.1%) aged 22 to 64 responded to a self-report questionnaire on work schedules, work stressors, and well-being. Multiple regression analysis found that the preferences for cognitive activity subscale of the PS-6 moderated the association between shift work and strain (b = −.36, p < .001). Those who worked nights experienced more strain if their preferences for cognitive activity were misaligned, whereas no differences in strain were observed among day workers. Moderated-mediation analyses, on the basis 95% confidence intervals, found that shift work had a conditional indirect effect on work-family conflict, job satisfaction, and health-related quality of life, via strain, and the effect was moderated by preferences for cognitive activity. Findings provide additional evidence for the criterion and external validity of the PS-6, and importantly, the present study establishes further support for models of shift work and health. Overall, the analyses highlight the importance of exploring the interactions between shift work and different dimensions of morningness in shift work tolerance research.

KEYWORDS:

• Morningness-eveningness
• shift work
• healthcare
• chronotype
• sleep
• well-being
• stress

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all participants of the Survey of Work and Time for Healthcare Workers (SWAT-Healthcare).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This paper was supported by Grant Number T01-OH008610 from CDC–NIOSH. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH. For further information, please contact the corresponding author.