APPROACH TO IMPROVE THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE OF EMPLOYEES USING AGENT-BASED PLANNING AND SIMULATION-BASED EVALUATION

Working hours that are based on operating requirements may lead to conflicts between working and private times of the employees. In an attempt to reduce or even to avoid conflicts between employees' and operating needs, a hybrid approach is presented here. This approach reduces, or even avoids, conflicts between employees' needs and operational requirements. Starting from a preliminary shift schedule, an improved solution is developed through agent-based time swaps between the employees. The resulting solution is then dynamically evaluated using simulation. The simulation results show the advantages of the improved work schedules by means of personnel-oriented and logistics criteria. With the help of lexicographical preference ordering, an overall solution can be developed that improves the work-life balance of the employees and fulfills operating requirements. Finally, this hybrid approach is demonstrated using the intra-plant logistics department of a process automation devices manufacturer. Furthermore, the effects of diverse swapping heuristics are shown.