A rotating work shift is notoriously bad for people. Yet many jobs require it, mainly because they really don't care what negative effects it can have on a person. I did a rotating work shift in my early days of being employed (switching between 11pm-7am to 3pm-11pm in a single week) The brain fog that I suffered from can not be accurately put into words, I was a zombie about 90% of the time. I had no quality of life, my sleep schedule was thrown to all hell and back, and let's not even get into diet.
Working a consistent shift is healthier and allows for a better quality of life and home balance. Approximately 1 in 5 workers do shift work or work a shift that is not aligned with natural biological rhythms. There has been study after study done on the effects that these types of work schedules have yet employers just don't care.
For those working a rotating shift, of which 8.6 million people do, some of the negative effects are greater risk of heart disease, obesity, sleep disorders, more occupational accidents, and increased risk of cancer just to name a few. (1)
Heart disease risks are raised 40%. For over 50 years researchers saw an increase in peptic ulcers in people who rotated shifts and a 2008 study linked such work to GERD. There is a 50% increase in breast cancer, other cancers such as colon cancer and prostate cancer have increased chances. The link to increased cancer risks caused a subcommittee of the World Health Organization in 2007 to state that shift work with circadian disruption(which almost all shift workers have) is probably carcinogenic.*Straif K, Baan R, Grosse Y, Secretan B, Ghissassi FR, Bouvard V, Altieri A, Benbrahim-Tallaa L, Cogliano V, WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer Monograph Working Group [2007]. Carcinogenicity of shift-work, painting, and fire-fighting. Lancet Oncol 8:1065-1066.
I have also read of many ways that workers can mitigate these effects. But all that focuses on sleep and not the other health issues. The simple fact is that shift work is not healthy. So why do companies still insist on doing this to workers? One of the main reasons is coverage, they would rather have people work shifts than hire enough people to fully cover each shift.
I have frequented many work reform forums yet this topic is rarely brought up. Years ago I swore to myself that I would never work rotating shifts again, regardless of pay and benefits. It just isn't worth it. I saw the damage it did to my health and also my relationships. Am I a thorn in the side of the employer because of this? Yes. But why should I wreck my life because you can't hire enough people per shift so there are no holes? My physical health is far more important than your business being open.
Even working a consistent shift of overnights is not healthy, it goes against the natural sleep rhythm and can lead to a whole host of sleep issues in people which in turn lead to other issues. Yes, some fields will always need overnight employees, but some of these businesses that operate being open for twenty-four hours is just ridiculous. When I worked overnights at a gas station the vast majority of the time I had few if any customers, yes there was a rush from 11pm-12pm, and then there were a few people who came in between then and 5am. Honestly, it was a waste of money to have us work it. I have heard horror stories of grocery stores seriously only having one or two customers overnight yet these stores remain open. I sometimes wonder why they think it's good business practice to stay open for a handful of customers, while probably paying your workers more than made in sales for the whole night.
Another pet peeve of mine is starting too early or working more than 8 hours a day. Having no car I was dependent on coworkers getting me to work at my last job. One of the ladies who was my ride had decided with our supervisors' permission that she would come in at 5am. That meant I had to get up at 3 a.m. to start getting ready. To top it off she would stay until 2:30 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. Even though I worked four days a week at the time I quickly got burned out due to having no quality time to unwind from work. It was horrible. My health was negatively impacted as I was constantly getting sick and I had no time for home life I would come home as I had four, maybe five hours if I was lucky in the evening. I was a total bitch because I was tired all the time. I lost enjoyment in activities such as reading. How could I find time to read if I came home at 3:30 p.m., cooked dinner, ate, showered, and then had to help my son with schoolwork only to make sure I went to bed by 7 p.m. My days off were spent playing catch up on all the housework I couldn't get to. My work performance started to be impacted and I was getting far less done than I normally did.
Multiple studies have shown that working long hours does not mean increased worker productivity, actually it results in the opposite. (2 3 )yet supervisors demand overtime thinking that they have more productivity when in reality they have less. There have even been studies that an 8-hour workday might be too long and that worker productivity starts to wane at about the 6-hour mark. ( 4)
I would love to hear from others who have either worked a rotating shift, did overnights consistently or who work/worked longer than an 8-hour shift. How does it impact your life and health?
If you think people who work fewer hours are only for those who are lazy you really need to check out the book Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price, PH. D. It will really change your opinion of "laziness"
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