This is especially true when the work has to be scheduled beyond normal daylight hours, say 8am to 5pm. Round the clock scheduling occurs in workplaces where continuous services and production are required, like healthcare, immigration, transportation, and utilities- all of these need round the clock staff.
Today, about one in five workers in Europe are employed in industries involving night work, and about one in twenty perform extended hours work. In all probability, the situation in the United States is similar.
Shift work leads to adverse health effects.
• There is a marked reduction in the quality and quantity of sleep
• Workers complain of fatigue
• Cardiovascular conditions, depression, anxiety, and gastrointestinal disorders are common
• Women are prone to increased risks of spontaneous abortion and low birth weight.
Prevention
One way to minimize the damaging effects of night shifts is to design the work schedule. It is here online employee scheduling can help managers rotate the shift work in such a manner so that employees are not put into the same time slots for an extended period.
An employee work schedule template that has a rapid rotation of shifts is preferable to slow rotation. Rapid rotation creates less interference with the circadian rhythm than slow rotation.
The need to preserve health of employees working round the clock has been felt worldwide. As a result countries across the world have set directives to industries to limit or curb abnormal work patterns.
On the part of managers and business owners, it is their duty to cope with potentially harmful workplace environments. They must put in place employee scheduling that leads to the least disruption in mental physical and social well-being of employees.
