The proposed study uses multiple years of panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1979 cohort (NLSY79) to examine the relation between shift work as well as other measures of demanding work schedules on the probability of a workplace injury. Nearly 6 million people are injured at work each year; nearly half of these resulting in lost workdays. About one-sixth of full-time workers do not work regular day shifts. Those who work non-day shifts and long or irregular hours are susceptible to fatigue which puts them at greater risk of a workplace accident. However, individuals who work shifts are not random. Individuals have certain preferences for shift work and certain jobs are more likely to involve shift work. This project uses instrumental variables, logistic, and fixed effects techniques to control for the selection into shift work. Controlling for that selection, the impact of shift work on work injuries is estimated. The model is expanded to investigate different measures of work schedules and different measures of injury severity. Finally, other long-term health outcomes are to be examined. The relationship between shift work and work injuries has not been well documented. The results of this project will substantially enrich knowledge of the personal and job characteristics which are determinants of work injuries.
