Ready for our next fact on Alberta’s oil and gas rotational workforce? Here it is!

Fact #3: There is no best rotation. Rotations with equal work and time off are the most effective at ensuring workers get enough downtime.

The impact of working long hours for many days or nights in a row on worker safety is a concern for rotational employees. The research we analyzed for our report does not point to any one best rotation – rather, it suggests equal work/time-off rotations are most conducive to ensuring long-term operations workers get enough downtime. And with worker choice playing an increasingly important role in rotational workforce arrangements, some companies are offering multiple rotation options to enhance their attractiveness to employees.

The actual rotation that works best for a worker is affected by a number of personal and family factors. Some of the workers we interviewed said rotations that offer longer periods of time off, such as 21 days on and 13 days off (21/13) or 14/14, are generally more attractive to those who have further to travel, even if it means longer periods of time away from home.

Irregular rotations or shifts have a more negative impact on worker performance and safety than either the length of rotation or length of shift.

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Tomorrow, we examine the benefits and challenges associated with the rotational lifestyle.