Precarious schedules linked with workplace aggression in a high-risk occupation

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Criminology
• Sociology

Background:

• Night work and prolonged hours are known risk factors for workplace aggression.
• The impact of precarious work schedules on workplace aggression remains understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between precarious work schedules and client-based workplace aggression among Parole Probation Officers (PPOs).

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted with 35 PPOs.
• A precarious schedules index was developed based on unexpected shifts, lack of control over hours, and short shift notification times.
• Generalized Poisson Regressions were used to analyze the relationship between precarious schedules and self-reported aggressive incidents.

Main Results:

• Workplace aggression was highly prevalent (94.3%) among the studied PPOs.
• PPOs experiencing precarious schedules (74.3% prevalence) reported 1.55 times greater adjusted rates of workplace aggression compared to those without precarious schedules.
• This association was statistically significant (IRR = 1.55, 95% CI 1.25, 1.97, P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Precarious work schedules are significantly associated with increased workplace aggression in PPOs.
• Findings suggest that enhancing schedule predictability could be a strategy to mitigate client-based aggression in this occupational group.
• Further research is recommended to explore interventions focused on schedule stability.