What do we mean by the term ‘shift work’?
Shift work is a form of employment that involves working outside of the traditional nine to five schedule, allowing employers to provide services around the clock, seven days a week. Typically, shifts can range from two to twelve hours long, and can include working days, nights, or weekends.
Shift work can provide benefits, such as the ability to better meet customer demands, highlighter levels of service output, and flexibility in scheduling shifts. However, shift work can take its toll on the body and lead to negative impacts on employee health.
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (iosh) commissioned a report looking into the long-term effects of shift work on things like sleep quality, quality of life, physical health and cognitive functioning.
The report found that those who had never done shift work had the least disturbed sleep patterns. It also highlighted that shift workers (or former shift workers) were more likely than those who had never worked shifts to show symptoms of metabolic syndrome – a range of physical health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and failure to control blood-sugar levels.
Below we explore some of the further ways shift work can impact physical and mental health.
How can shift work affect employee health?
- Disturbed internal body clock (particularly night shifts)
- Sleeping difficulties
- Disturbed appetite and digestion
- Cardiovascular problems (for those that work overnight)
- Fatigue
- Can put you at higher risk of social isolation
- Mental health (anxiety, depression, mood disturbances)
- May put you at greater risk a developing diabetes, heart attack or metabolic syndrome
It’s thought those who work nights, early mornings or rotating shifts are at higher risk of being affected by some of the health implications. These types of symptoms can affect employees on the job, with things such as alertness, performance and potentially increase the risk of errors, accidents and injury at work. This is why it’s important as an employer to put interventions in place to help protect and support the health of shift workers.
Managing the affects of shift work on health
Based on iosh’s report into the long-term affects of shift work, we have pulled out some practical steps employees and employers can take to help reduce the negative affects of shift work on health.
Tips for employees:
Prioritise good quality sleep – Avoid things such as caffeine, alcohol and strenuous exercise before going to sleep as this can disrupt it. Try to wind down an hour or so before going to sleep, and if you can’t sleep, try reading or listening to music to help your body relax. Create a healthy sleeping environment, and try to stick to a schedule to make it easier to sleep during the day. Blinds, ear plugs and an eye mask can all help.
Consider how your meals fit around your shifts – iosh recommends sticking as close as possible to a normal day and night pattern of eating, including three main meals each accounting for a third of your daily intake. If higher energy levels are needed, make your meals and snacks more frequent. Try to swap sugary and non-fibre carbohydrates for healthier options that will give you more energy – such as vegetables, pulses, grains, lean meat, fish, dairy, fruit and wholemeal bread. Avoid heavy meals before going to sleep as this can disrupt it. It’s also key to keep hydrated. This may not always be easy around shift work, so plan how you will get the recommended six to eight cups or glasses of fluid a day. Another thing to be wary of is high fat food in vending machines or fast-food vendors. If these options are tempting on a shift, try to take your own pre-prepared meals and snacks.
Try to maintain an overall healthy lifestyle – This includes engaging in regular physical activity, sticking to regular mealtimes, eating a healthy and nutritious diet, and maintaining good quality sleep even when you are not working. It also means using healthy ways to cope with stress as this can sometimes lead to poorer lifestyle choices, and if experienced over a prolonged period of time, can impact our mental and physical health.
Try to maintain social connections – Working shift-patterns can make it harder to spend time with partners, family and friends, which can lead to feelings of isolation. Try to schedule at least one meal a day with your household, and aim to keep in touch with your family daily. Making effort to socialise with your colleagues can also help to minimise feelings of loneliness and help to boost your social wellbeing.
Reach out for help when you need it – If you are struggling with shift work and the impact it is having on your health speak to your line manager or HR department. They can then signpost you onto supportive measures they have in place, and possibly look at reasonable adjustments that can be made. You can also speak to your GP if you are worried about your health or notice any symptoms.
Tips for employers:
Allow adequate time between shifts – This can support employees to get enough quality sleep and have time to eat and prepare meals between shifts. Iosh recommends scheduling no more than five to seven shifts in a row, and no more than two nights in a row. They also state that excessive overtime, split shifts and excessive 12-hour shifts should be avoided. Iosh also advise providing at least 48 hours between shift changes to allow the body to adjust to a different pattern.
Leverage the expertise of occupational health to risk assess and provide regular health checks – Occupational health can support with risk assessments, health screening and pre-employment checks. They can also offer advice on reasonable adjustments that can be made in the workplace. With several risk factors associated with shift work (in particular night shifts and early morning shifts) it’s important to take a preventative approach to employee health in order to keep staff healthy and minimise sick absence.
Provide access to an employee assistance programme (EAP) – With one in four of us experiencing at least one diagnosable mental health condition a year, there is a need to provide access to professional mental health support when staff need it. An EAP provides 24/7 confidential support via a helpline, meaning your staff always have someone to speak to, no matter what life throws at them. EAPs can offer support across a range of topics, from work stress to bereavement. They can also refer staff onto further interventions where needed, such as counselling.
Run targeted staff campaigns around specific risk factors – Disrupted sleep is a key risk factor for shift-workers. Therefore employers could consider investing in tools to help improve sleep and utilise awareness days such as World Sleep Day in March. Diabetes is another condition that can be linked to shift work due to things like unhealthy lifestyle choices. Therefore making effort to raise awareness about symptoms of diabetes and ways to reduce risk for type 2 diabetes is another idea you can consider, this type of activity can also be centred around World Diabetes Day on 14th November.
Other awareness days you may wish to promote internally are Mental Health Awareness Week, National Fitness Day, Know Your Numbers Week (blood pressure awareness) and Healthy Eating Week.
Provide workshops and resources on stress management – We can’t avoid stress, but with the right tools and information, employees can feel more empowered to manage stress in a healthier way. It’s important to continually drip-feed supportive resources on how to manage stress via staff communication channels such as notice boards and in team meetings.
Give employees some autonomy over their work – Research shows that allowing employees to have some autonomy in their role can help to boost productivity, improve work-life balance and increase performance and job satisfaction. It’s also important to ensure the demands on staff are realistic and manageable.
Provide access to a 24/7 cafeteria with healthy options – Eating a healthy nutritious meal while on shift work can be a challenge for employees. If you have the facilities in place, providing access to healthy meals and snacks can encourage staff to make more healthier choices. This in turn can help to boost energy levels and support their overall health.
Organise social events to help boost social connection – Because shift workers can be prone to feelings of isolation due to the nature of their shift patterns, it’s important to try and foster social connections in the workplace to help reduce feelings of loneliness. Consider how you can help to bring employees together giving them an opportunity to socialise, such as a summer BBQ or a festive meal in December. Organising company events where staff can bring their family is another way to help boost social wellbeing across your workforce.
Further support
British Nutrition Foundation – Nutrition for shift workers.
Mental Health at Work – Sleep and shift work.
Health and Safety Executive – Guidance on managing shift work.
iosh – Managing the effects of shift work on health
Health and Safety Executive – Hints and tips for shift workers.
Sources
https://www.axahealth.co.uk/business/member-articles/diabetes-and-hypertension/manager-guide-why-heart-health-matters-at-work/
https://iosh.com/media/1572/the-effects-of-shift-work-on-health-summary-report.pdf
This information was published October 2023.
