PERCEPTION OF FLEXIBLE HOURS SCHEME AMONG REGISTEREDNURSES IN SINGAPORE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Abstract

Background: In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for flexible working hours in various industries. Such flexible working hours are said to improve work-life balance for workers. Healthcare institutes are also adapting flexible working hours for its workers. Recently, in Singapore, “flexible shift hours” was established in a public hospital to give registered nurses(RN) better shift hours. As a new initiative for the hospital, there is a need to explore the nurses’ perceptions of flexible shift hours. Aims: The study aimed to explore the perceptions of flexible shift hours among RNs in Singapore. The specific objectives of the study were to explore the benefits and barriers to the implementation of flexible shift hours and explore other alternatives of the flexible shift hours to facilitate better work-life balance for nurses. Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach was adopted. In-depth face-to-face focus group discussions were conducted using convenience sampling on 16 RNs working in various departments in a local hospital in the North-east part of Singapore. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcribed data. Results: Findings showed that nurses were doubtful about whether flexible shift hours would enable them to end work on time. Nurses reported that flexible shift hours were implemented without their input. The negative impacts of flexible shift hours were found to outweigh the positive impacts. As nurses felt that flexible shift hours could be improved, they made various suggestions such as changing starting and ending time. Conclusion: The implications of the findings called for policy makers to engage nurses in developing new schemes that could affect their working conditions. This study provided a greater understanding of the possible benefits and barriers of flexible shift hour from the nurses’ viewpoints which could be beneficial for other hospitals who might be implementing such scheme in the future.