(The following article by L.M. Sixel was posted on the Houston Chronicle website on October 17.)
HOUSTON — As more people work evening and overnight shifts at call centers, retailers and bank processing centers, they’re suffering from higher rates of gastrointestinal troubles, cardiovascular diseases and sleep disorders than their counterparts who are home in time to watch the 6 p.m. news.
That’s because they dine too often on vending machine fare, they don’t exercise as much because they’re tired, and they tend to drink too much caffeine to stay awake and then too much alcohol to fall asleep, according to the Circadian Technologies study Health in Extended Hours Operations: Understanding the Challenges, Implementing the Solutions.
For example, people who work nights are two to three times more likely to have ulcers than non-night workers, according to Circadian, a Massachusetts-based consulting firm that specializes in issues concerning workers of non-traditional hours.
Our bodies aren’t equipped to handle food in the middle of the night, which causes stomach upset for people who work “extended hours,” according to the study’s author, Acacia Aguirre. They also have higher stress levels.
That’s because it’s more difficult to juggle problems like child care at weird hours or finding time for their families while they’re also trying to get by with inadequate or interrupted sleep, said Aguirre, who is also Circadian’s medical director.
When people sleep less than six hours, they’re more irritable and moody, she said. It also affects safety. Shift workers have more car accidents than day workers because of sleep deprivation.
And that, coupled with the stress, affects the immune system, so employees who work odd hours have a much higher risk of getting infections such as colds and flu. There is also definitely a relationship between shift work and diabetes, she said. While it’s not clear if working odd hours causes or just aggravates the condition, an improper diet and lack of exercise certainly worsens it.
And the problems aren’t just hurting employees. Circadian estimates that it costs an extra $1,181 per extended-hour employee per year to pay for the increased medical expenses. Then there are costs for sick leave and lost productivity.
None of this is news to Glenda Sikorski, founder of Lone Star Ladies of 139, an activist organization of wives married to railroad workers in Houston.
Sikorski can rattle off the names of the railroad workers who have suffered heart attacks, strokes and a myriad of stomach troubles. That list includes her own spouse.
Some of the health problems probably stem from an aging population. But Sikorski blames much of the trouble on the fact that railroad workers are allowed only eight hours of rest between 12-hour shifts.
Many work more than 80 hours a week, she said, and often can’t sleep for more than six hours at a stretch. They eat while they’re working, often opening a can of soup and putting it on the engine to heat up, and any exercise is next to impossible.
And family time? It takes a psychological toll, Sikorski said, recalling one worker who was upset that his new baby cried every time he held him because he didn’t recognize his dad.
So what can an employer do to ease the stress?
Aguirre suggests that companies monitor the diseases of their shift workers and focus on the health problems they find. She said they should then incorporate that information into the health promotions, such as weight reduction or smoking cessation programs.
For example, they can offer seminars on eating properly, getting enough sleep and the importance of exercise, and tie the information directly into the problems their schedules may give them.
And employers should bring up those same key points during more traditional safety meetings on chemical exposure or safe tool habits.
Another idea is to open a cafeteria at night so employees can buy fruits and vegetables instead of having to rely on fatty food from vending machines, she said. Or make exercise machines available at work and offer help finding child care at odd hours.
“It’s not as if everyone who is working nights has to be sick,” Aguirre said.
Like many hospitals, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System has had a long time to think of ways to help its early morning, late-night and overnight employees adjust.
And what employees have said is that they don’t want to feel out of the loop, said Debbie Mahannah, administrative director of human resources. So St. Luke’s schedules seminars and celebrations at all times of day and night.
Employees can attend seminars on hot new diets in the wee hours, Mahannah said. And executives can be found walking the halls at 3 a.m. to say hello to the night staff.
One popular celebration occurred from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. in the cafeteria when the executive staff served breakfast to all the night workers, she recalled.
The hospital also has concierges on staff who will do just about anything for employees — find someone to pick up their kids, plan a trip or even arrange a limo for their grandmother in California to go on a shopping spree on her birthday, Mahannah said.
It also helps that employees sign up to work specific shifts — be it days, evenings or weekends — and that their schedule doesn’t change, she said.
The overnight and weekend jobs can be hard to fill, but at least when employees sign up, she said, they know exactly what days and times they will be working.