Working Nights

2010 Sleep in America Poll Released!

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has just released the 1st poll to examine sleep among four ethnic groups in the United States: Asians, Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics and Whites-the 2010 Sleep in America Poll. Although significant differences in the sleep habits and attitudes of each group are revealed, there are also a number of interesting similarities. The poll found that more than three fourths of respondents from each ethnic group agree that poor sleep is associated with health problems. It also showed that each group reports similar experiences missing work or family functions because of fatigue. This is of extreme significance to shift workers who routinely average less sleep than day workers.

The NSF is committed to understanding people’s sleep needs and giving them the tools necessary to get the optimum amount of rest. Read more about the poll and its findings at the NSF’s website…

Working Nights President, Betsy Connolly, to Chat with Nurses on NurseTogether.com – Join us Tomorrow at 6 pm est.

Nurses are used to working shifts - nursing was one of the first professions to require that work schedules be matched to the needs of patients.  Medical complexities, expanded services, and consumer demand for all types of health care around the clock has meant that more nurses are working shift work now than ever.

Betsy Connolly, President of Working Nights is going to be chatting on-line with nurse members of NurseTogether.com.  Topics will include a review of circadian rhythms as well as practical tips for managing work/life balance when working shifts, particularly roating ones. 

When:  Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 6 pm est.

Where:  NurseTogether.com – click here for the link and to become a member.

WSJ Covers Heart Risk at Work and Seasonal Affective Disorder

There were two articles in the Wall Street Journal today that are significant to shift workers. One story is about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and the other’s about a new study reporting that men who didn’t confront colleagues or bosses who treated them unfairly doubled their risk of heart attack.

Seasonal Affective Disorder – the article states that SAD “affects an estimated 6% of Americans, causing depression, lethargy, irritability and a desire to avoid social situations. It can also create an urge to overeat, particularly carbohydrates. As many as 15% of people in the U.S. may have a milder version that includes only some of these symptoms.” What the article leaves out, that all shift workers know, is that SAD symptoms are routinely felt by workers at jobs outside the normal day-time hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. See more about this in our articles on Vitamin D and Serotonin.

Reducing Heart Risk with Confrontation – the lead researcher from Stockholm University and her research partners asked 2,755 men how they typically responded to unfair treatment at work. Those who said they just let it pass and said/did nothing had significantly more heart attacks during the next ten years. After adjusting for age, socio-economic factors, risk behaviors, job strain, and biological risk factors, the risk of heart and death from a cardiovascular event was 2.3 times greater than it was for those who said they confronted those treating them unfairly. Read more about how shift workers can manage stress on the job and about controlling bullying at work.

To read the two Wall Street Journal articles:

Seasonal Affective Disorder
Reducing Heart Risk with Confrontation

©2009Circadian Age, Inc. ‘Working Nights”

Shift Worker Liquid Intake Extremely Important!

Most shift workers admit they don’t have the best understanding of nutrition and that they find it challenging to follow good nutritional habits. It makes sense that sticking with good nutritional meals can be difficult when working shifts – most shift workers admit they eat what they can find with the least effort – which is often food from vending machines, 24/7 convenience stores, or fast food restaurants. What doesn’t make sense is that shift workers don’t have better knowledge about their own nutrition. Certainly with education, just as with everyone, shift workers’ nutritional awareness can be exponentially increased.

We often read about nutrition and relate it immediately to the food we eat. We’ve written in other posts about the importance of eating healthy food – see “Be Careful What you Eat When Working Shift Work.” However, liquid sustenance is a significant part of our daily intake as well. When we’re awake, we drink water, juice, soda, coffee, tea, alcoholic beverages, and some of us drink liquid nutritional supplements too. What’s important about the liquids we put in our body? The essential information to know is about hydration and dehydration, calories and caloric content, and how where you live, the job you perform and your overall activity level impacts your body’s need for liquids.
Read this article…

A Pitch to President Obama – How About a Shift Workers Day?

2010 Working Nights Pocket Calendar 3.5 x 7

In moments of great stress and loss, our immediate tendency is to point the finger and blame those we see as having had the responsibility for predicting, and thereby preventing, the crisis. Most recently, experts responsible for issuing emergency warning alerts have been criticized for their slow response to an 8.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami followed by even more quakes earlier this week in the Samoa Islands region (150 deaths). This was followed by Wednesday’s 7.6 magnitude earthquake in the southern Sumatra region of Indonesia which has reportedly killed at least 700 (and many are still missing – 30,000 homes destroyed). Now emergency workers and aid groups are scrambling 24/7 to respond to the havoc and devastation resulting from these disasters.

It takes you back to 911, Katrina, or the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that killed 150,000 people. People working 24/7, working nights, evenings, and weekends for multiple days in a row! How do we get through these emotionally draining and often physically taxing periods?
Read this article…

It’s a Sad Labor Day for Many Shift Workers (and others too)!

According to the Department of Labor, here is how Labor Day came about and what it means:
“Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

Today is a sad Labor Day – too many workers are not able to contribute to the health of the country and are instead struggling to keep their own financial heads above water.
Read this article…

CIGNA Health Care Converts Call Center Operations to 24/7

To more effectively service customers, CIGNA claims to be the first and only health care company to offer live customer service 24/7. Earlier this year they opened their service centers on weekends and holidays. Servicing more than 45 million people world wide, CIGNA recognized that people need to be able to get their health care questions answered whenever then can, not only when the help desk is open. But now they’ve moved fully into the shift working world. See their press release below.

CIGNA Health Care Converts to 24/7 Call Center Operation

The Expensive Recession: Managing Costs During Difficult Financial Times

Money’s low, stocks are down, workers and employers on all sides of the board are struggling to make ends meet. In this recession people are counting on their jobs more than ever, yet many companies view layoffs as the quickest way to get out of the red. But by focusing on root causes of money loss, management can make long-term changes to boost the profit of operations. Shift worker absenteeism bleeds company money, and frequent worker turnover requires more basic worker training and more money hunting for replacements. Increased preventative health care and management training would cut down on illness and injury, saving money on health costs and reducing absenteeism, as well as helping workers feel more connected with the company to slow worker turnover. This article focuses on the personal pain of layoffs and alternative ways to cut costs while saving jobs. Read this article…

Integrating Shift Workers Into the Overall Business Environment

Happy employees are productive. Happy shift workers gain more satisfaction out of their shifts, have better levels of fitness and more restful sleep, and cost their company less in absences and health care costs. An efficient way to raise shift workers’ confidence level and performance is to emphasize their connection with the overall company, a tie that often goes over looked throughout the night shift hours. Since managers and more experienced workers most often work the day shift, though tiredness at night might require more care for the night shift to do the job safely and well. The absence of feedback and encouragement for people working nights and the potential of fewer training hours for shift workers does not take into account unique difficulties shift workers face. Making sure extended hours workers don’t get ignored ensures higher morale and productivity throughout the whole 24 hours. Read this article…

Shift Workers as Knowledge Workers

As the world of work and industry evolves, shift workers can no longer be contained in the small box they once were. Shift work incorporates all types of jobs and occupations, and management needs to realize how to encourage and support the new breed of shift worker. Way back in 1959, business commentator Peter Drucker, whom a recent Business Week article called “the man who invented management”, coined the term “Knowledge Worker.” He created the idea that many workers traditionally considered blue-collar have a unique ability to learn and process information in their subject area. Extended hours workers are often experts about their jobs in a way no one else is, and managers need to focus on training and supporting night and shift workers so they can make better use of their ability. Until companies realize they need to tap into these gifts of their employees, they will be letting millions of dollars of potential go to waste. Read this article…