What is the Differences Between the Day & Night Shift in Factories?
Factories around the world increase their productivity by operating on a 24-hour basis. Workers at these factories work on shifts that are either static or on rotation. A static shift has a group of workers assigned to work nights and another to work days, whereas rotation system workers work a shift for a determined number of days before switching to the next shift in the pattern with three eight-hour shifts covering a 24-hour period.
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Pay
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Night shift workers often receive a shift bonus for working unsociable hours, and so they often earn more than their day shift colleagues doing the same hours and job. This premium for working night shift varies from company to company. Since the 1980s the gap between day and night shift pay has decreased as the labor market has become more competitive as a result of globalization.
Commuting
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Commuting for night shift workers can be a problem in some locations especially if the shift ends early in the morning before the transport system is operating. This can lead to increased commuting costs if workers are traveling by public transport. Lone female workers also feel more vulnerable traveling to and from work when it is dark. Some companies will ensure lone workers, particularly females, are able to use private transport options and may cover the additional cost.
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Sleep Disorders
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In his study "Working Harder, Working Dangerously: Fatigue and Performance in Hospitals" published in The Medical Journal of Australia in 1998, M.J. Olsen suggests that night shift workers are more at risk from certain sleep disorders than their day-working counterparts. The evidence suggests that this is a result of the body's natural internal body clock being disrupted. Research into sleeping patterns of night workers has shown that over a 24-hour period the body's natural cycle, known as the circadian rhythm, is interrupted, leading to excessive tiredness and fatigue. This can be an issue in operations which are dangerous such as mining or where public safety could be put at risk, for instance, in the transport sector.
Health
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Physical health can vary between day and night shift workers. According to the 1997 Helsinki Heart Study, a night shift worker is 40 percent more likely to have heart disease than a regular day shift colleague. The study also found that high blood pressure, a contributing factor to a higher level of coronary medical issues, was also more common in night shift workers.
Adapting
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To minimize the impact on workers' health and sleeping patterns, many companies have introduced the three-day rotating shift. The theory is that by only working three nights in a shift rotation the effects of loss of sleep will be reduced. These three-day patterns generally allow for an extra day in between the switch from the late-night shift to the normal day shift, giving workers a chance for their bodies to adjust to sleeping times of the day.
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References
- Photo Credit travaux de nuit image by Julien Breistroffer from Fotolia.com
