Design and Appropriation of Computer-supported Self-scheduling Practices in Healthcare Shift Work

TL;DR

This paper presents a worker-centered self-scheduling system for healthcare shifts that emphasizes social well-being and active participation, contrasting with efficiency-focused automation.

Contribution

It introduces a social practice-based system prioritizing healthcare workers' needs and provides insights from a nine-month study on its use and social dynamics.

Findings

Workers with social concerns used the system less

Identified conflict prevention practices

Suggested shift from competitive to supportive scheduling

Abstract

Shift scheduling impacts healthcare workers' well-being because it sets the frame for their social life and recreational activities. Since it is complex and time-consuming, it has become a target for automation. However, existing systems mostly focus on improving efficiency. The workers' needs and their active participation do not play a pronounced role. Contrasting this trend, we designed a social practice-based, worker-centered, and well-being-oriented self-scheduling system which gives healthcare workers more control during shift planning. In a following nine month appropriation study, we found that workers who were cautious about their social standing in the group or who had a more spontaneous personal lifestyle used our system less often than others. Moreover, we revealed several conflict prevention practices and suggest to shift the focus away from a competitive shift distribution paradigm towards supporting these pro-social practices. We conclude with guidelines to support individual planning practices, self-leadership, and for dealing with conflicts.