Shift Work

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Shift Work the Aging Workforce
Gary A. Higbee EMBA CSP Higbee Associates,
Inc. Electrolab Training Systems Office
515-270-6623 Cell 586-604-3765 g.higbee_at_mchsi.co
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Shift Work Topics

• Why shift work is increasing
• Symptoms of shift work
• Biological Clock
• Treatment methods
• Drugs
• Circadian Lighting Systems
• Workers Compensation Issues

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Why Shift Work is Increasing

• Customer demand services/products
• Cost of Capital
• Fewer workers
• Historically low unemployment rate
• Lower birth rates

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Shift Work Issues

• The data suggest rather strongly that night shift
  operations often have
• Lower productivity rates
• Higher risk of accidents
• Equipment damage
• Employee Injury
• Diminished product quality
• Lower quality of life
• Lower expectations

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Sleepy (Fatigued) Employee

• It isnt so much what an employee does wrong
  when they are sleepy it is more a problem of what
  they fail to do.
• Errors or omission are more common

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Shift Work Injury Issues

• "Night and rotating shift workers are at
  excessive risk for involvement in accidents and
  serious injuries on the job." - (Paul D. Cleary,
  PhD, "The Prevalence and Health Impact of
  Shiftwork," American Journal of Public Health,
  Vol. 76, No. 10 (October 1986), p. 1225.)

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Shift Work

• "Researchers who investigate the complex
  mechanism of the body's biological clock
  unanimously agree that rotating shifts create the
  greatest health risks, because they cause the
  most severe disturbances."

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Shift Work

• "Rotating shift workers, who not only work at
  unconventional hours but who move from shift to
  shift, clearly encounter the most difficulty in
  adjusting their psycho-biological rhythms and
  patterns to their work schedules. Shift work may
  well pose a distinct health hazard for certain
  rotating shift workers."

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Shift Work

• "Of all shift workers, rotators seem to fare the
  worst. Our research, along with the findings of
  others, identifies shift rotation (three shift)
  as a scheduling system that imposes excessive
  physical and psychological costs on shift
  workers. In certain instances, decreased life
  expectancy could be a reasonable expectation."

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Circadian Rhythm Biological Clock

• Scientists have discovered that this precisely
  timed 24-hour repeating process (circadian
  rhythm) is actually controlled by a tiny area of
  the brain
• Elevates body temperature
• Releases hormones
• Cognitive ability

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The Best Worst of Times

• Worst time is 3 to 6 AM
• Zombie Zone
• Nodding off
• Non-attentiveness
• Irresistible sleep
• Errors in judgment
• Best time is 4 to 6 PM

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Injury Trends in Shift Work

• The injury risk did not seem to be higher on the
  night shift in terms of frequency,  but more
  severe accidents occurred on the night than on
  day shifts.  More injuries were observed at the
  end of the shift, at the 2nd part of the shift
  block, and in the summer.  The accident rate was
  lower on weekends, especially on Sundays.

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Circadian Lighting Systems

• Use of light therapy
• Varies the lighting
• Approximates intensity or morning or evening
  sunlight
• Adjusts the biological clock
• Moves sleep time to off hours

Its Not Nice To Fool Mother Nature
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Other Methods of Control

• Drug use
• Caffeine
• No doze
• No-Shift-Lag

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Workers Compensation Issues

• Labor Law - Shift Work Mal-Adaptation Syndrome
  Not Considered a Work Injury - Claim for Workers'
  Compensation Benefits Denied by the Pennsylvania
  Supreme Court
• Insomnia due to shift work is a workplace injury,
  workers' compensation tribunal rules

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Workers Compensation Issues

• "The Worker's severe cognitive deficit meets the
  definition of "disablement" under the Act. ... We
  find that the cognitive deficit had its origins
  in the Worker's periods of employment. His
  symptoms arose when he worked rotating shifts,
  and he was most symptomatic when he worked the
  night shift. But for the assignment to work
  outside his ... sleep-wake cycle, it appears on
  the evidence that the Worker's symptoms would not
  have manifested themselves."

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The Weeding Out Process

• We do not adjust well even over time
• Average one to two hours less sleep a night
• Loss is cumulative
• Many leave the job
• Quit, termination or move to days
• Those that stay simply find ways to cope

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What Have we learned

• The issue is not going to go away
• There are negative impacts
• Treatment methods are limited
• Workers compensations cases are sure to increase
• Research will continue
• Safety Skills

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The Aging Workforce Topics

• Why an Aging Workforce?
• Health Safety and workers compensation Issues
• Bad news and good news
• What can we do?

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Aging Workforce Trends

• By 2005, 15 percent of the workforce will be age
  55 and older, according to the Bureau of Labor
  Statistics.
• It appears this estimate is too low
• Over 20 expected by AARP
• Lack of workers
• Desire to stay in the workforce
• Baby boomer effect
• Older Younger - Older

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Older Workers Intend to Work longer

• Like to work
• Older workers healthier than retirees
• Employer incentives
• Work adjustments
• Altered work assignments
• Technology advances
• Part-time work
• Phased in retirement

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BLS Report

• Older workers have fewer injuries but when an
  injury occurs the severity of the injury and the
  recovery time are significantly increased
• Ergonomic type injuries expected to increase
• Workers compensation cost are expected to rise

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Older Workforce Issues

• An attitude and background survey, along with
  accident and injury reports, were reviewed for
  workers in a nuclear power facility with the goal
  of determining the relationship between an aging
  workforce and the rate of injuries. The study
  subjects included 209 workers at a nuclear power
  facility. Older workers experienced more days
  injured than younger workers. This was not caused
  by a greater number of injuries, but a longer
  recovery time, once injured. Older workers
  reported being less physically fit than younger
  workers, but the older workers appeared to
  compensate for their reduced physical capability
  by being more aware of and sensitive to safety in
  the workplace.

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Bad News

• No place to hide
• Absenteeism rates for both work related and non
  work related injuries are higher
• For work related injuries the average number of
  days lost for all workers was 5 for older workers
  the average number of days off was 10

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Good News

• Fewer injuries
• Self selection
• Technology is gaining
• Better healthcare better health
• Flexible hours
• Safety Skills Training (not just awareness) is
  now available

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What Should We Do?

• Aggressive automation for modification or
  elimination of high risk tasks
• Automation combined with more aggressive
  ergonomics programs targeted at productivity and
  quality improvements along with improved safety
• Wellness opportunities
• Flexible work schedules

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Risk Patterns
To Become