Ethical Issues Relating to the Health Effects of Long Working Hours
Ethical Issues Relating to the Health Effects of Long Working Hours
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DOI：
10.1007/s10551-008-9700-9
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发表时间：
2009-01-01
影响因子：
6.1
通讯作者：
Dembe, Allard E.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Dembe, Allard E.
大量的研究证据表明，在长时间工作和涉及非常规轮班工作（例如，夜班和晚班）。此外，研究表明，在这种苛刻的时间表中工作的员工所犯的与疲劳有关的错误可能对公共安全产生严重的不利影响。由于这些关切，美国正在倡导新的保护性立法，例如限制护士和其他保健专业人员的工作时间。本文回顾了人们对长时间工作的关注的历史，以及目前关于长时间工作对工人健康影响的科学证据。非常规的轮班工作和长时间的工作时间表的道德影响被认为是。相关的道德考虑包括强制性或无偿加班以及雇主胁迫的可能性、政府管理工作时间的政治基础、对自愿假设风险的潜在限制、公平分配可用工作时间所产生的社会效益、与工作时间有关的基于性别的不平等，雇主有责任保护非雇员的个人免受苛刻的工作时间表的溢出效应。
Considerable research evidence has accumulated indicating that there is an increased likelihood for illness and injury among employees working in long-hour schedules and schedules involving unconventional shift work (e.g., night and evening shifts). In addition, studies show that fatigue-related errors made by employees working in these kind of demanding schedules can have serious and adverse repercussions for public safety. As the result of these concerns, new protective legislation is being advocated in the United States, for instance, to restrict the hours of work among nurses and other health-care professionals. This article reviews the history of concerns about long working hours and the cur-rent scientific evidence regarding their effects on workers' health. The ethical implications of unconventional shift work and long work-hour schedules are considered. Relevant ethical considerations involve mandatory or unpaid overtime and the possibility of employer coercion, the political basis for government regulation of working hours, potential limits on voluntary assumption of risk, societal benefits accruing from the equitable distribution of available working hours, gender-based inequities related to working hours, and employer responsibilities for protecting individuals who are not employees from the spillover effects of demanding work schedules.