Working "Nine to Five": A Movie Inspired Innovative Scheduling Initiative

Purpose for the program: Job satisfaction in nursing has been linked to satisfaction with one’s work schedule particularly in the younger generations of nurses. Our nursing unit had an increasing turnover rate and morale issues related to work schedules as well as the scheduling process itself. Research has demonstrated that self-scheduling is a potential approach to increasing job satisfaction especially in generation Y members.

Proposed change: Work shifts and call days were signed up for on a first-come, first-serve basis on designated days. These days were very stressful for most staff as many drove in from home on a day off and tensions were high as staff waited for their turn to sign up. Once a day’s allotted slots were full, no one else could sign up to work that day. Despite having specific guidelines to follow, shifts were left uncovered and staff were unhappy when their shifts got changed by Leadership. A change in how staff were scheduled to work was imperative.

Implementation, outcomes and evaluation: Inspired by the flexible scheduling and job sharing in the movie “9 to 5” starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, one of our Charge Nurses came up with an idea for self-scheduling that involved scheduling partners similar to job sharing in the movie. The vision was that each nurse could set her schedule to allow for appointments and her children’s activities. There was a perceived need to provide a work-life balance which was not being met with the previous scheduling system. Staff were grouped into sets of scheduling partners with a total of 1.8 FTE/group. Staff were paired based on skill sets and ability to work Mother-Baby/Antepartum as well as Labor and Delivery. One of the group members must be signed up to work a 12 hour shift each day during the week. One of the seven days is self-designated as a call shift. The Leadership Team then makes minor changes incorporating approved vacations, classes and the availability of prn to work. This process has been in place since April 2012. Staff are more satisfied with the scheduling process and no one has resigned based on job dissatisfaction with scheduling since the new self-scheduling process was implemented. Completing the schedule is less time consuming for the Leadership Team and less stressful.

Implications for nursing practice: This is a viable alternative for scheduling that can be implemented in any area.

Keywords: self-scheduling, job satisfaction