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Taking an Intervention Approach to Assess Job Redesign in the UK Fire and Rescue Service: The Impact of Alternative Crewing Methods

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Applying Occupational Psychology to the Fire Service

Abstract

This chapter considers how the change in work conditions following the introduction of Alternative Crewing Arrangements (ACA) influenced work-related well-being and operational effectiveness within the Fire Service, evaluated as a job-redesign intervention. A comparison of the traditional 2:2:4 crewing structure and the new ACA structure is provided with an outline to the potential risks to work-related well-being. Drawing upon a theoretical framework to understand both the outcomes and processes of workplace interventions, the findings of a body of triangulated research demonstrate the need to explore job redesign interventions from both a quantitative and qualitative perspective to understand what works for whom, how, why, and under which circumstances. An exploration of the findings with reference to the Job Demands-Resources model sees a development of the model to highlight the role of attributions in the experience of demands and resources. Through an appreciation of the ways in which an intervention to improve operational efficiency is likely to be experienced by frontline staff, services can be best prepared to prevent negative impact on both service delivery and employee well-being.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Citations from the host organisation’s internal documents use the assigned pseudonym for the project to protect the anonymity of The Counties FRS.

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  1. School of Psychological, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Coventry University, Coventry, UK

    Karen Maher

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  1. Coventry University , Coventry, UK

    Thomas Rhys Evans

  2. Coventry University, Coventry, UK

    Gail Steptoe-Warren

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Maher, K. (2019). Taking an Intervention Approach to Assess Job Redesign in the UK Fire and Rescue Service: The Impact of Alternative Crewing Methods. In: Evans, T., Steptoe-Warren, G. (eds) Applying Occupational Psychology to the Fire Service. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14588-0_4

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