Managing the shiftwork lifestyle: how shiftwork affects kids

The New Zealand website, Stuff.co.nz, published an article "Kids hit by shiftwork: Children of shift workers are spending up to 50 hours a week in care as their parents juggle work and home life, Families Commission research shows." If you're a shiftworker and parent, or if you manage shiftwork operations, you might want to take a look at this brief article.

Nightshift zookeeper killed by snake

The body of a 29-year old student zoo keeper working an overnight shift along at the Caracas (Venezuela) zoo was found in the grip of a 10-foot python. An article in the local newspaper noted that the zoo keeper had broken zoo rules by entering the cage holding the snake. The National Shiftwork Information Center view is somewhat different -- fatigue in the overnight hours impairs judgment, vigilance, and reaction times. An inexperienced zoo keeper, working alone, at night, in the reptile section was unfortunately in a place where impaired performance had a deadly outcome.

This is a tragic reminder of the consequences of night shift work. Rather than point fingers at the deceased employee, we believe it will be most beneficial for zoo and government officials to look at their shift work management practices to see if there is shiftworker lifestyle training, shift scheduling, or other changes that could be implemented to reduce a repeat of this incident.

Nightshift working nurses overworked

A February 28 article in The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) discusses challenges facing overworked nurses, "Overworked nurses can't handle strain of additional duties, union says."

The article cited one nurse who said,

"At times, she admitted, she longed to be back at the bedside, to help
those in pain or dying. But the thought quickly disappears after her mind
flashes back to the long hours and gruelling work."

Legislation (and pay raises?) in Pennsylvania nurses future?

The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article It's past time to relieve nurses
In Pa., they can be forced into extra shifts that discusses the forced overtime for nurses that can have them working 18 or even 24 hours straight.

While 12-hour shifts are increasingly commonplace -- very often by the demands of the shiftworkers -- shiftwork experts say that overtime beyond that should be infrequent, and limited in length to not more than 16 hours while a substitute is found. There clearly is a safety issue for both the nurses, the patients they serve, and others on the road when the fatigued nurses drive home.

The article mentions that state legislators are considering a ban, but that will not solve the problem. The problem is driven by a shortage of trained nurses. The solution doesn't lie in legislation alone. More nurses will need to be attracted to fill the gaps. That calls for a market solution -- raising the rate of pay to attract more nurses. That's the only way a new equilibrium will be found.

Managers of 24/7 operations, particularly those that absolutely must operate round-the-clock, and require skilled labor, should take note. Overworking employees creates extra costs and liabilities, and ultimately will drive employees away exacerbating the labor shortage.

I'm not advocating any particular action on anyone's part but the

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)