Working at night and work ability among nursing personnel: when precarious employment makes the difference

To test the association between night work and work ability, and verify whether the type of contractual employment has any influence over this association.

Permanent workers (N = 642) and workers with precarious jobs (temporary contract or outsourced; N = 552) were interviewed and filled out questionnaires concerning work hours and work ability index. They were classified into: never worked at night, ex-night workers, currently working up to five nights, and currently working at least six nights/2-week span.

After adjusting for socio-demography and work variables, current night work was significantly associated with inadequate WAI (vs. day work with no experience in night work) only for precarious workers (OR 2.00, CI 1.01-3.95 and OR 1.85, CI 1.09-3.13 for those working up to five nights and those working at least six nights in 2 weeks, respectively).

Unequal opportunities at work and little experience in night work among precarious workers may explain their higher susceptibility to night work.