Compromise shifts the balance for nurses

In a new briefing from the Workforce and Health Systems team at ARC Wessex has shown that flexible approaches to nursing shifts can improve the retention and health of nurses.

The Evidence Brief: Negotiating competing priorities in nurse shift scheduling brings together the results of NHS managers and nurses from five NHS Trusts in England.

The study found that:

Balancing Choice with Consistency, Predictability, and Flexibility

Nursing staff highly valued having a consistent shift pattern that aligned with their personal preferences, along with predictability and flexibility.

Adequate Rest and Recovery Between Shifts

Nurses agreed that sufficient rest between shifts was crucial due to the demanding nature of nursing.

Enjoyment and Engagement at Work

Nurses valued meaningful patient interactions and team collaboration. Nurses also valued supportive managers who demonstrated an accommodating style by providing "time off the floor" for other supporting work-related tasks.

In conclusion the study found that: "Collaborative and compromising approaches seem to be the most effective ways to prevent conflicts from escalating. By reasonably meeting nurses’ preferences through these approaches, organisations can support both individual well-being and operational efficiency. Conversely, rigid policies and competing approaches often lead to conflicts, low morale and turnover."

You can read the full report here:

25_12 Negotiating Competing Priorities in Nurse Shift Scheduling_ARC format.pdf

Download PDF • 219KB

More Evidence Briefs are available on this page