Shift Work and the Impact on Wellbeing Helen Lawson Objectives - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Shift Work and the Impact on Wellbeing

Helen Lawson

Objectives

• Shift work in context & key guidance (UK)
• Known negative impacts associated with shift work
• How to support shift workers using a wellbeing

framework

• The benefits of getting wellbeing right, for shift

workers, other workers and organisations

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What is Shift Work?

• No one specific definition;
• Work outside standard hours (normally between 7am –

7pm, 8hrs, with lunch break), maybe with a handover

• One employee replaces another on same job in 24 hours
• Extended periods of 12 hrs +
• Rotating shifts
• Split shifts
• Overtime/Standby/On-Call

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Context & Guidance

• Approx 3.6 million shift workers (14% of working pop)
• Managing shiftwork, Health and Safety guidance, HSE
• Working Time Regulations (WTR) – some exemptions
• Railway and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety)

Regulations

• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
• Health and Safety at Work Act

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What is Wellbeing?

• Subjective - a state of mind
• Being comfortable, healthy &/or happy over time
• It’s not just the absence of illness or disease
• Physical and mental wellbeing
• A little reflection … On a scale of 1 to 10 …..

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Levels of Wellbeing Intervention

• Primary – helps whole groups - woven into

business design, org etc. Eliminates or reduces stress/negative wellbeing impacts at source

• Secondary – targeted – often training based.

Useful where primary isn’t possible

• Tertiary – targeted – should be used in

addition to above. May include Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs)

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Employer Responsibilities for Shift Workers

• Protect health, safety & welfare of all

employees and others

• Assessment of risks
• Consult with employees
• Commit to measures which reduce risks

including;

• No. of hours
• How they are scheduled

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Employer Opportunity

Consultation/leadership

“The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions.”

Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-2009) 8

Leadership & Listening?

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Empathic Attentive Selective Pretending Ignoring

Stephen Covey

Employee Responsibilities

• Take reasonable care of own and others safety
• Take positive steps to understand the risk

factors in their work including;

• Fatigue
• Compliance with safety rules
• Do nothing to put others at risk

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Are you Supporting Them?

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Capability + Opportunity + Motivation Behaviour

Susan Michie, COM-B Model

Shift Work Negatives for Businesses

• Poor performance
• Likelihood of errors
• Accidents
• BUT – there are always opportunities
• Growth mindset
• Marginal gains (Dave Brailsford)

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Minimising Business Shift Work Negatives

• Review organisational practices
• Create a supportive infrastructure
• Check your COM-B model compliance
• Leadership – do they know stuff or staff?
• Is competition an organisational tactic?
• Create a shared vision & community
• Psychological safety is paramount

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Individual Negative Impacts of Shift Work

• Disruption to circadian rhythms (body clock)
• Sleep disturbance/loss
• Fatigue
• Disturbed appetite and digestion
• Reliance on sedatives and/or stimulants
• Social/domestic problems
• Relationships at work

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Minimising Individual Impacts

• Raise awareness of potential negative impacts
• Educate on how to minimise e.g. sleep hygiene, diet,

alcohol, stimulants and sedatives etc.

• Explain biology/scarce neurological resources
• Highlight significance of stress – good and bad
• Self awareness, emotional intelligence, listening,

constructive comms for work and home

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Health Inequalities

• Unfair, avoidable, differences across population
• 9.3 years < for men
• 7.5 years < for women (Health Profiles)
• Wider determinants of health - education,

income, housing and employment

• May have lower awareness of/access to services
• May lack essential skills (Skills Builder F/W)

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Shift Worker Health Risks

• Gastrointestinal – indigestion, constipation
• Hypertension and Coronary Heart Disease
• Colds, flu, gastroenteritis
• Female reproductive issues
• May affect pre-existing conditions – diabetes/asthma
• Dose response effect of meds (circadian rhythms)

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Supporting Shift Worker Health

• Provide free health assessments (WTR)
• Continually promote what is available (EAP)
• Promote free resources (e.g. NHS Health Checks)
• Health promotion – men’s health, BP, smoking
• Educate on self care and health management
• Parity of esteem – physical and mental health

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Mental Wellbeing

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Adapted from Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Support Positive Change

Thoughts Feelings Behaviours

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Supporting Shift Workers Wellbeing

• Sickness and absenteeism including lost-time incidents
• Accidents
• Compensation claims
• Efficiency
• Quality
• Productivity
• Performance
• Engagement
• Discretionary effort

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Strategic Workplace Wellbeing

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Mind Body Community Money

+ ?

In Summary

• Shift work poses real risks which must be managed
• For every challenge, there is an opportunity
• Look to achieve marginal gains
• Consider the value of a wellbeing approach
• What if you invest in them and they leave?
• What if you don’t and they stay?

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Any questions?

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Useful Information

• Skills Builder Framework – Universal Framework for

Essential Skills - https://www.skillsbuilder.org/

• Health Profiles -

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/health-profiles

• NHS Health Checks - https://www.healthcheck.nhs.uk/
• Smoking Cessation - https://www.nhs.uk/smokefree

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Contact Details

Helen Lawson Workplace Wellbeing Specialist, Trainer, Speaker and Author E helen@wellbeingts.co.uk W www.wellbeingts.co.uk www.linkedin.com/in/helen-lawson-educator @wellbeingtrainingsolutions

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