Shiftwork schedules: time of shift

Yesterday, I talked about the factors you need to consider when creating shiftwork schedules for a 24/7 shiftwork operation. Today, I'm talking about the time of day a shift is worked and the implications for shiftworkers.

Twenty-four hour operations usually are usually divided into two or three shifts. Start and end-times depend on the length of the shift.

• Day shift (also called morning or first shift) starts around 5 to 8 a.m. and ends around 2 to 6 p.m.
• Evening shift (also called afternoon or second shift) starts around 2 to 6 p.m. and ends around 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Night shift (also called third, “graveyard shift,” or “mid” shift) starts around 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and ends around 5 to 8 a.m.

A shiftwork schedule which calls for workers to work 12-hour shifts has two shifts per day – a day shift and a night shift.

Why is the time of shift important?
Because people who work in the late night or early morning hours often feel sleepy and fatigued during their shift. This happens because their body rhythm (also called a circadian rhythm) tells them to be asleep at those times.

Night workers also must sleep during the day, when their circadian rhythm tells them to be awake. Because of this, day sleep is short and feels “light” or unsatisfying. Often, night workers don't get enough sleep during the day to combat nighttime fatigue and sleepiness. Also, day workers sometimes must wake up very early to go to work. This might cause them to cut off their sleep, which makes them feel tired during the day.

Shiftwork schedule times also determine when a worker can see family and friends. Many social events take place in the evening, which means they might be missed by evening or night workers. Parents who work the evening shift might not see their children during the week because they are at work when the kids return from school. If this happens too often, it can be stressful.

In future posts, I'll talk about the other factors to consider when creating a shiftwork schedule or rota -- length of shift, start times, direction of rotation, rotation schedules, etc.

Source: Plain Language About Shiftwork (NIOSH)

A blog for Shiftworkers and their Managers

In the spring of 1995, I co-founded Circadian Information with Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, a world-renowned expert on circadian alertness and fatigue. Our intent was to create a publishing business that would serve the growing number of businesses that operated 24/7, to help them improve the health, safety, and alertness of their employees. We also had some publications for individual shiftworkers, to help them and their family members successfully handle the demands of an atypical work schedule.

We published the Shiftworker Family Calendar (now the Working Nights Family Calendar), Shiftwork Alert (a monthly newsletter for managers in 24/7 operations), Working Nights (a monthly newsletter for shiftworkers and their family members), Alertness on Track (for railroad workers), and numerous booklets and management reports. We were fairly successful at that and these publications, now part of Circadian Technologies, Inc., continue to this day.

I have never lost my interest in the subject of alertness and performance for shiftworkers and others who work at night. I have also always been aware that the type of expert information we published at Circadian Information, is only one piece of the puzzle. That's why I founded the National Shiftwork Information Center.

Shiftworker-to-shiftworker help and advice is an important element. A lot of this stuff is not rocket science but it can take a little while to learn. I'm creating this blog -- the National Shifwork Information Center -- to provide a forum for shiftworkers to share information among themselves. We will talk about important topics like sleep, napping, diet, caffeine/stimulants, lifestyle, human physiology, human factors, work performance, safety, and whatever else you want to discuss. I'll also provide links to other online resources I find that you might find useful.

Although I've covered this topic for a long time I don't know all the answers. But, I know that somewhere out there, someone does. And, your feedback on my posts, your suggestions, your critiques of other web resources, will all help make this a more valuable resource for you and the millions of people who work at night. So let's hear from you.

Note about the term "Shiftworker"
For lack of a better word, I tend to use the word "shiftworker" to describe anyone whose schedule has them working more than half of the time outside of the 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. time frame. I realize that includes the factory and utility workers we tend to think of as shiftworkers, but it also includes healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, technicians, etc.), transportation workers (pilots, flight attendants, ground crews, railroad engineers and conductors, truck drivers, merchant mariners, etc.), public safety (police, firefighters, military, secret service, etc.), and many others who need to be able to maintain alertness in the overnight hours to ensure effective and safe performance.

Please tell your friends and colleagues about this resource. It exists to help you, and them, improve health, safety, and quality of life. I hope that sounds pretty good. And it's free!

Ed Coburn
Executive Director and Blogger-in-Chief
National Shiftwork Information Center