It’s OK to sneak a snooze on the job
It’s OK to sneak a snooze on the job
One-third of companies that employ shift workers allow them to take brief naps during the work period if it is done discreetly, and 15% actively encourage naps during break times, according to a new survey of shift-work conditions by Circadian, a consulting company in Cambridge, MA, that specializes in helping employers with shift workers.
The company recently released highlights of its annual survey, in which 552 employers responded to questions about employees working around the clock. These were some of the findings:
• 31% of the respondents forbid naps and discipline those caught napping on the job.
• 43% of the companies responding use 12-hour shift schedules for the majority of their employees.
• 58% of respondents use rotating schedules in which employees switch among various shifts, compared with 66% in the previous year; among those using 12-hour shifts, 86% use rotating schedules.
• Most companies pay employees some form of differential pay for working nondaytime shifts, with the average shift differential being 50 cents per hour.
• 20% of the companies responding report that employees average more than 300 hours of unscheduled overtime a year, with 7% indicating that the average overtime exceeds 500 hours per year.
Fighting fatigue
Overall, shift-work practices are improving, says Ed Coburn, an educator with Circadian who released the results of the annual survey.
"The typical shift worker in North America works overtime on a regular basis but less than 200 hours per year, earns 50 cents extra an hour, and is more likely to be able to nap during breaks," he says. "There remains some progress to be made, however, in such areas as overtime management and break-time napping."
Circadian’s report also notes that the federal government plans to spend more than $13.5 million over the next five years developing technologies intended to reduce fatigue-related transportation accidents.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) initiative has the ambitious goal of attaining a one-third reduction of fatigue-related transportation injuries, fatalities, and property and environmental damage or loss within 10 years. The project has the potential to save over 10,000 lives and prevent 750,000 accidents a year, according to an announcement by the agency.
The project kicks off with a one-year $1.5 million program in which the agency will convene a forum of national experts to assess the current status of fatigue management efforts. The second phase is a four-year $24 million public-private partnership, with half funded by DOT and half coming from transportation industry sources.
Major goals include developing new technologies to detect fatigue and improving operator training in alertness issues. Probable countermeasures under study include napping, stimulants, sedatives, improved hours of service rules, melatonin, bright light, and fitness-for-duty measures.
[For a complete copy of the annual survey report, which costs $45, contact Circadian, 125 Cambridge Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140-2329. Telephone: (617) 661-2577. Web site: www.circadian.com.]
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