Shift Work Schedule

Shift Work Schedule

            In the current schedule four teams were given a six on two off schedule rotating shifts each work period.  Three eight hour shifts were separated into day, swing, and night; each overlapping by thirty minutes.  This schedule has many advantages and few disadvantages.  The consistent on duty time for six days in a row should allow the employee to become accustomed to the schedule.  Furthermore, the two days off are followed by a shift that starts later than the previous stint of working days, which should allow the worker additional time to adjust.  However, the six straight days of work can put a strain on the employee.  Changing shifts from day to swing to night can also increase fatigue since the body will just be getting used to one schedule when it’s time to change to another schedule. 

There are two approaches to scheduling, from a circadian perspective (ACEP, 2003).  One approach is to never rotate shifts (ACEP, 2003). Each person is different; some fare better at night, while others are more comfortable during the day.  If someone is willing to work strictly nights, the company should do what they can to retain them and appropriately compensate them.  The other strategy is to work as few a number of nights in a row as possible (ACEP, 2003).  The idea is to never reset your circadian rhythms, but to maintain a constant diurnal orientation.  The foremost benefit to working many night shifts in a row is that once adjusted to nights one will be alert, well rested, and provide optimal performance, rather than struggling to stay awake (ACEP, 2003).  The main way to determine which approach is best is to know the employees well and get feedback as to what they wish to have.  An employee scheduled for a shift time they want will be less likely to hate coming into work.

The other factor to take into consideration is the shift lengths.  One important finding about the internal "clock" is that it runs on a twenty-five hour day, not the expected twenty-four hour day (ACEP, 2003).  Subjects who are isolated and removed from all zeitgebers (various time clues of the exogenous component) will predictably go to bed an hour later each "day" and sleep an hour longer into the next day (ACEP, 2003).  Circadian principles are more easily applied to eight hour shifts.  However there are many advantages to twelve hour shifts.  With only two shift turnovers per day, the twelve hour shift schedule results in fewer opportunities for miscommunication and production disruptions that occur during shift changeover periods (CIRCADIAN, 2014).  Most workers need time to adapt to their work environment (i.e. adjusting monitors, organizing tools, etc.) and the twelve hour shift allows workers to maintain their productivity, while eight hour shifts may end while the worker is a full productivity (CIRCADIAN, 2014).  Twelve-hour shifts typically are more popular with both shift workers and their families, reducing stress and improving the quality of life at work and home (CIRCADIAN, 2014).  Lastly, shift workers tend to be more dedicated to their job.  On twelve hour workdays, employees are more likely to avoid major social events, excessive alcohol consumption or physically taxing activities in their fewer hours of free time (CIRCADIAN, 2014).

The revised work schedule is quite all over the place.  In addition to eight hour shifts, two twelve hour shifts were added.  The eight hour shifts will be on the weekdays and the twelve hour shifts will be on the weekends. This schedule allows employees to have more weekend days off at a time.  The schedule continues to shift from day to swing to night to continue with the extra time between changing shift days.  An advantage is short work weeks, consisting of three, four, and five days.  Employees get a whole weekend off every four weeks and two times per four weeks gets one weekend day off.  The main disadvantage is the one week that an employee will have to work three nights in a row, two of which are twelve hour shifts.  While the schedule seems a bit erratic, the short work periods give the operator’s time to catch up on rest.

References

ACEP. (2003, September). Circadian Rhythms and Shift Work. Retrieved from acep.org: http://www.acep.org/content.aspx?id=3056

CIRCADIAN. (2014, June 30). 8 Major Advantages of 12-Hour Shifts: A Manager’s Perspective (Part 1). Retrieved from circadian.com: http://www.circadian.com/blog/item/14-8-major-advantages-of-12-hour-shifts-a-manager%E2%80%99s-perspective.html#.U79Iyvl