SINGAPORE – Hospitals here are making flexible work arrangements more accessible to nurses as they continue to look at ways to attract and retain them to ensure a steady flow of nursing manpower to meet the demands of a fast-ageing population.Traditionally, nurses have three regular shifts a day, whereas flexible work arrangements would include shifts that start and end at different times, part-time employment, and compressed work weeks where nurses work additional hours each shift to get an extra day off that week. At the National University Hospital (NUH), for instance, flexible shifts have become a mainstream option.

Victoria, Stanley, Aaron, and Courtney are nurses working fixed, regular shifts in a Sydney hospital. The 4 nurses fly to Singapore for a medical conference. Singapore time is 2 hours behind Sydney time. Who would you expect to be the most awake and alert in a meeting held at 3pm Singapore time the day the nurses arrive?Group of answer choicesAaron, who normally works the evening shift from 5pm to 1am the next dayCourtney, who is a night owl and works nights from 11pm to 7am the next dayVictoria, who is an early bird and works the morning shift from 5am to 1pm every dayStanley, who prefers the afternoon shift from 11am to 7pm

James is a nurse who recently worked 3 evening shifts, 2 days shifts, followed by 1 night shift before having 3 days off. What kind of work schedule is this?Group of answer choicesForwards rotationBackwards rotationSplit rotationSlow rotation

benefit to a business of allowing its employees to work flexible hours.

A new job for a nurse has just been advertised. It is for a permanent 6pm to 2am shift. Which of the following candidates would be best suited to it?Group of answer choicesHarry, who has always worked day shifts and considers himself a morning personFreya, who during her studies usually stayed up late to study and slept in most morningsAnnie, who is an intermediate chronotype and does not favour mornings or eveningsWei, who feels most alert after lunch but needs a nap to stay up after midnight

Fran wants to work for B Ltd as a social media manager for 20 hours a week but she wants flexibility over when she works those 20 hours during the week. B Ltd will only offer her the position if she agrees to be an independent contractor. The contract states, amongst other things, that Fran needs to negotiate a week in advance of the days and hours she will work the following week. Which of the following is the most accurate: Group of answer choices While employers normally set the hours and days of an employee’s work, an employee and employer can agree to flexible working arrangements. Fran having flexibility over when she works does not automatically make her an independent contractor, other factors would be looked at. B is correct that Fran must be an independent contractor as employers always set the hours and days of an employee’s work As an employer, B has the right to decide whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor and a court cannot find otherwise. Because the work is not full time B is fine to make Fran an independent contractor and this decision cannot be challenged in the courts.