Participation & Prevention: When Organizing Shift Work at Company Level in Various European Countries

This anthology presents an investigation of how shift work is organised in various European countries. The important role of the participatory bodies is discussed, vis-a-vis the prevention of shift-work related problems. The results of the investigation reveal that while systematic prevention activities do not take place, strengths and weaknesses were to be found in the various processes for employee participation in designing shift schedules. They suggest that good results can be achieved by combining innovative processes based on a regulatory framework that ensures health and safety with formal foundations that ensure employee influence.