Social Welfare and Health Care Sector Recovery Calculator

1. The assessment requires a team supervisor and personnel representatives (preferably more than one). It is a good idea to agree on the development activities together with the entire unit.
2. The Recovery Calculator is suitable for assessing the current situation and planning the development work of units with similar work practices. The results can also be used by senior supervisors, occupational health care and HR management. They should be contacted about initiating and implementing the development activities.
3. The Social Welfare and Health Care Sector Recovery Calculator can be used as part of the annual risk assessment and occupational health co-operation. It can be taken again after any development activities have been implemented in order to assess their effectiveness.

Background questions

• Employer sector
• Unit sector
• How many employees does your organization have in total?
• How many employees in your unit does this survey concern?

1. Opportunities to influence working hours

   Can employees regulate their working hours (e.g. the start or end of shifts or the allocation of days off)?

   How often can work or holiday wishes be taken into account when planning work shifts?

2. Commitment to work

   Has your unit agreed that work is done only during official working hours and, if necessary, defined the circumstances under which employees must be available during their free time?

   Does the management of the unit set an example of aiming to complete work during working hours?

   Are there employees in the unit who occasionally work at least 48 hours a week?

3. Performance appraisals

   Do instructions regarding performance appraisals include annual discussions of issues related to workload and recovery?

   During performance appraisals, are individual measures decided upon as necessary in order to manage the workload and promote recovery?

4. General stress factors of work

   Have the physical, psychosocial and cognitive stress factors of work been assessed and identified in your unit?

   Have you minimized the harmful physical stress caused by work?
   For example, with safe working practices, solutions related to workspaces and the work environment or by utilizing work equipment and assistive devices.

   Have you minimized the harmful psychosocial workload caused by work?
   For example, by increasing the opportunities to influence work, defining clear objectives and responsibilities, ensuring reasonable workloads, and developing interaction and co-operation in the work community.

   Have you minimized the harmful cognitive workload caused by work?
   For example, by work arrangements, realistic workload estimates, and ensuring peaceful conditions for work that requires concentration by minimizing interruptions and distractions.

   Does your unit develop and maintain a sufficient number of good practices that apply to the target group of the survey to foster a sense of community in your work community?

5. Moral distress

   In ethically challenging situations, people are forced to consider the correctness and appropriateness of their actions, choices and decisions, and it is not always clear what is the right way to act.

   How often are there instances in your unit where you have to act against the rules and norms?

   How often do you have to act against the employees’ own values?

6. Practices related to recovery

   How common is the cancellation or interruption of statutory breaks due to the requirements of work?

   How often is it possible to take breaks with colleagues?

   Is it possible to take micro breaks at work (breaks of less than five minutes) to make the work lighter?

   Does your unit have any meeting practices in place that promote recovery (e.g. the number, duration, and timing of meetings)?

   Does your unit have any practices that encourage exercise while commuting and at the workplace?

   Does your unit have any practices that encourage the use of cultural services or other activities that promote recovery?

7. Recovery in shift work

   Does your unit perform shift? (= shift work, period-based work or work involving more than just daytime work)

   Does your unit use participative shift scheduling? In participative shift scheduling, working hours are planned in interaction according to common basic rules, the fluency of operations and competence needs. The planning process emphasizes the employees' willingness to negotiate and ability to take responsibility.

   Do you utilize the Working Hours Traffic Light Model prepared by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in planning the shifts of your unit? The assessment of shift ergonomics according to the Working Hours Traffic Light Model can be carried out with several social welfare and health care sector shift planning programs and can also be found on the website of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

   There are situations in our unit where the employee(s) have:

   • more than one shift interval of less than 11 hours every week
   • less than 28 hours off after night shifts
   • only one day off between night shifts
   • a weekly rest period of less than 35 hours
   • individual days off weekly

8. Shift and resource planning

   If there is a shortage of human resources in the planning of working hours, what is usually done in your unit:

   • permanent staff are asked to work overtime or extra shifts
   • planned workload is reduced by, for example, changing duties or cancelling future patient/client activities
   • leased or other temporary additional labour is hired  
   • the working pace is increased
   • work processes are developed or work tasks in the long term are reduced.