A Change in Working Hour Legislation Banning Quickreturns in Sweden – from the Perspective of Employees in Elderly-Care

Introduction: In 2023, Sweden effectively banned quick returns (<11 hours of rest between shifts), which had previously been common in care-sector workers’ schedules. Quick returns are associated with insufficient recovery and sick leave but are also regarded by some as having beneficial effects e.g., facilitating better information transfer between shifts. This study investigated factors predicting employees’ attitudes toward the rule-change, post-implementation, and how those attitudes related to employees’ health and wellbeing.

Methods: A survey was emailed to a random selection of half of the members of a trade union working in elderly-care (≈61 000). Of those 52% opened it, and 14% of those participated (N = 4319). The survey assessed attitudes toward work hours and the rule- change, experiences of its implementation and impacts on professional and personal life. It also evaluated perceptions of workload, work environment, leadership, health, sleep and work-life balance. Preliminary descriptive analysis of responses has been conducted. On-going regression analyses, to be presented at the conference, will examine whether attitudes toward the rule-change are predicted by their experience of its implementation, or by other organisational, managerial, or individual factors; and whether respondents’ attitudes toward the rule-change predict their health and wellbeing.

Results: Thirty percent of respondents rated work hours negatively and 75% reported a negative impact of the rule-change upon their work hours. Most reported an increase in working three consecutive evening shifts (72%) and changes in the scheduling of weekend work (65%). Most (76%) reported that their ability to influence the planning of work hours had been impaired by the rule-change, as was the possibility to amend already planned schedules (82%). Many were negative to the new rules before the implementation (49%) but more were negative after implementation (74%). Additionally, 28% reported that derogations from the new rules occurred frequently after the rule-change. During the implementation, 72% felt that management had not listened to employees’ suggestions concerning the rule-change. Most reported negative effects of the rule-change on their work (e.g., less job satisfaction 63%, more conflicts in the work group 55%, impaired information transfer between shifts 58%) and personal life (e.g., more work-life interference 72%, impaired sleep 59%; impaired recovery in free time 71%).

Conclusion: The response rate was low, so the negative experiences of the rule-change reported here may not be representative of the whole workforce. However, data from this large sample will be used to examine the factors that prompt negative attitudes toward changes in working time rules, and how negative attitudes relate to health and wellbeing. These findings will provide valuable insights into how to successfully manage the implementation of such changes in the future. Support: Funded by Forte (2023–00556), Sweden.

 

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No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
08 October 2025