Multiple-shift workforce scheduling under the 3-4 workweek with different weekday and weekend labor requirements

Novel workweek arrangements have gained acceptance in many seven-days-a-week operations, such as hospitals and data processing centers. This note considers a multiple-shift workforce scheduling scenario for seven-days-a-week operations under a workweek arrangement called the 3-4 workweek. The present model seeks to minimize the workforce size subject to satisfying staffing requirements and workrules relating to off-days, off-weekends, and work-stretches. The paper provides an efficient optimal algorithm which is intuitive and simple enough to be implemented by hand.