Study also shows shift worker fatigue growing
Support from human resources is in short supply for round-the-clock shift workers, a new report states. And considering about 20 per cent of employees in North America work outside the nine-to-five, Monday to Friday schedule, a large group of workers end up on the doorstep of an HR department that’s closed.
The annual report, Shiftwork Practices 2002 — put out by U.S-based Circadian Technologies, a research firm that specializes in shiftwork — indicates that 93 per cent of North American companies surveyed do not provide HR services outside regular business hours and 41 per cent of organizations don’t offer training on how to cope with shiftwork. More than 600 companies operating 24-7 across the U.S. and Canada were polled, representing about 120,000 shift workers.
Many workers complain about this inaccessibility, said Kirsty Kerin, an analyst at Circadian Technologies. When they have an issue that needs to be addressed, it can be frustrating when it takes weeks or months to visit an HR person. “They can get irritated by managers who don’t understand the issues they (shift workers) have to deal with,” Kerin said.
For those with fixed night shifts (employees permanently on either evenings or nights) the chances of catching a glimpse of their HR staff is non-existent. Roughly one-third of all 24-7 companies are fixed shift facilities. More than 80 per cent of the workers receive no HR coverage during the off-hour schedules. It is expected they find time by coming in early before a shift or staying later to interact with HR.
But after doing an eight-hour or 12-hour night shift, it’s not easy to wait around for HR to open its doors, said Ron Heslegrave, associate professor at the University of Toronto in the department of psychiatry and public health. With limited HR access shift workers can feel disenfranchised.
“People feel because they have limited contact with administration, management and HR, they feel disconnected from the company and the less representation there is of these groups on shifts, the less connected (employees) feel,” Heslegrave said.
Getting one HR person to work a few night shifts a month can improve the situation, said Kerin.
“HR can set up appointments and stay late three nights a month and deal with employees’ issues. It’s better to deal with it proactively, and have a few late evenings, then have staff leave,” she said.
Besides access to HR, there are other major issues HR and top management must address when it comes to shiftwork. Employees are working a large amount of overtime with about 25 per cent citing an average of 200 to 300 overtime hours and 10 per cent averaged more than 500 overtime hours. The percentage of corporations with high overtime hours has increased from 11 per cent in 2001 to 16 per cent this year.
Cutbacks and absenteeism may be the cause, according to Kerin. “If you don’t staff a 24-hour facility with the correct number of workers, any kind of absenteeism can lead to difficulty filling positions,” she said.
When no one is willing to do overtime voluntarily, an employer may keep a worker after one shift to do the vacant shift. Instead of working an eight-hour day, it may turn into a 16-hour shift.
“Then you have the snowball effect. You might have to holdover another employee if someone is absent from fatigue after doing a 16-hour shift,” Kerin said. It’s more cost-effective to have adequate staffing rather than pay workers compensation months down the line.
On-the-job fatigue is also on the rise. The number of companies that reported severe fatigue in the workplace actually doubled from last year. Almost half of the respondents cited “severe” to “moderate” fatigue problems. Also, participants reported that up to 45 per cent of accidents and injuries at their facilities were due to fatigue or lack of alertness.
Despite the fact that fatigue is one of the primary causes of work-related accidents, napping is still forbidden in most workplaces. More than 30 per cent of respondents forbid napping and discipline workers if they are caught, while 18 per cent forbid napping but will not take any disciplinary action.
“This is a troubling trend since numerous legal cases have set a precedent for holding the employer liable in cases in which drowsy employees, either on-duty or off-duty, suffer a fatigue-related accident,” the report stated.
In North America, it’s seen as lazy rather than productive behaviour, said Kerin.
Heslegrave, who is co-author of The Shift: A self-health guide, said while employers may not accept napping, many workers are doing it on an informal basis. Usually it’s an understanding between workers and their manager. However, HR should be looking into fatigue management programs to curb the problem.
“If someone is tired to the point they are making mistakes, that’s costly in terms of potential accidents and reduced productivity,” Heslegrave said.
Having a policy in place would set guidelines for napping, so it doesn’t get abused, and it would get employees comfortable with the idea that they can take a short nap without being fired.
“You can build conditions under which the nap is permissible. There are a small number of workplaces that have built napping rooms and they don’t seem to be abused,” he said.
Mary Ann Diosi, who works closely with businesses to promote shiftwork health education, said the number one concern for workers is fatigue.
“The primary issue that comes out all the time (at the initial needs assessment) is sleep — lack of sleep and quality of sleep,” said Diosi, a public health nurse on the workplace wellness team for the Sudbury District Health Unit in Ontario. Nutrition and work-life balance are also areas Diosi addresses.
“It’s to make them understand that our bodies are not designed to work 24 hours. A lot of people just don’t understand why they have a hard time doing it,” she said.
Diosi recommends HR get involved in educating the workforce about the impacts of shiftwork and how to survive. They should look into environmental supports such as ergonomics, providing healthy snacks and frequent breaks. Then develop formal policies to institute the changes.
The annual report, Shiftwork Practices 2002 — put out by U.S-based Circadian Technologies, a research firm that specializes in shiftwork — indicates that 93 per cent of North American companies surveyed do not provide HR services outside regular business hours and 41 per cent of organizations don’t offer training on how to cope with shiftwork. More than 600 companies operating 24-7 across the U.S. and Canada were polled, representing about 120,000 shift workers.
Many workers complain about this inaccessibility, said Kirsty Kerin, an analyst at Circadian Technologies. When they have an issue that needs to be addressed, it can be frustrating when it takes weeks or months to visit an HR person. “They can get irritated by managers who don’t understand the issues they (shift workers) have to deal with,” Kerin said.
For those with fixed night shifts (employees permanently on either evenings or nights) the chances of catching a glimpse of their HR staff is non-existent. Roughly one-third of all 24-7 companies are fixed shift facilities. More than 80 per cent of the workers receive no HR coverage during the off-hour schedules. It is expected they find time by coming in early before a shift or staying later to interact with HR.
But after doing an eight-hour or 12-hour night shift, it’s not easy to wait around for HR to open its doors, said Ron Heslegrave, associate professor at the University of Toronto in the department of psychiatry and public health. With limited HR access shift workers can feel disenfranchised.
“People feel because they have limited contact with administration, management and HR, they feel disconnected from the company and the less representation there is of these groups on shifts, the less connected (employees) feel,” Heslegrave said.
Getting one HR person to work a few night shifts a month can improve the situation, said Kerin.
“HR can set up appointments and stay late three nights a month and deal with employees’ issues. It’s better to deal with it proactively, and have a few late evenings, then have staff leave,” she said.
Besides access to HR, there are other major issues HR and top management must address when it comes to shiftwork. Employees are working a large amount of overtime with about 25 per cent citing an average of 200 to 300 overtime hours and 10 per cent averaged more than 500 overtime hours. The percentage of corporations with high overtime hours has increased from 11 per cent in 2001 to 16 per cent this year.
Cutbacks and absenteeism may be the cause, according to Kerin. “If you don’t staff a 24-hour facility with the correct number of workers, any kind of absenteeism can lead to difficulty filling positions,” she said.
When no one is willing to do overtime voluntarily, an employer may keep a worker after one shift to do the vacant shift. Instead of working an eight-hour day, it may turn into a 16-hour shift.
“Then you have the snowball effect. You might have to holdover another employee if someone is absent from fatigue after doing a 16-hour shift,” Kerin said. It’s more cost-effective to have adequate staffing rather than pay workers compensation months down the line.
On-the-job fatigue is also on the rise. The number of companies that reported severe fatigue in the workplace actually doubled from last year. Almost half of the respondents cited “severe” to “moderate” fatigue problems. Also, participants reported that up to 45 per cent of accidents and injuries at their facilities were due to fatigue or lack of alertness.
Despite the fact that fatigue is one of the primary causes of work-related accidents, napping is still forbidden in most workplaces. More than 30 per cent of respondents forbid napping and discipline workers if they are caught, while 18 per cent forbid napping but will not take any disciplinary action.
“This is a troubling trend since numerous legal cases have set a precedent for holding the employer liable in cases in which drowsy employees, either on-duty or off-duty, suffer a fatigue-related accident,” the report stated.
In North America, it’s seen as lazy rather than productive behaviour, said Kerin.
Heslegrave, who is co-author of The Shift: A self-health guide, said while employers may not accept napping, many workers are doing it on an informal basis. Usually it’s an understanding between workers and their manager. However, HR should be looking into fatigue management programs to curb the problem.
“If someone is tired to the point they are making mistakes, that’s costly in terms of potential accidents and reduced productivity,” Heslegrave said.
Having a policy in place would set guidelines for napping, so it doesn’t get abused, and it would get employees comfortable with the idea that they can take a short nap without being fired.
“You can build conditions under which the nap is permissible. There are a small number of workplaces that have built napping rooms and they don’t seem to be abused,” he said.
Mary Ann Diosi, who works closely with businesses to promote shiftwork health education, said the number one concern for workers is fatigue.
“The primary issue that comes out all the time (at the initial needs assessment) is sleep — lack of sleep and quality of sleep,” said Diosi, a public health nurse on the workplace wellness team for the Sudbury District Health Unit in Ontario. Nutrition and work-life balance are also areas Diosi addresses.
“It’s to make them understand that our bodies are not designed to work 24 hours. A lot of people just don’t understand why they have a hard time doing it,” she said.
Diosi recommends HR get involved in educating the workforce about the impacts of shiftwork and how to survive. They should look into environmental supports such as ergonomics, providing healthy snacks and frequent breaks. Then develop formal policies to institute the changes.
