Coping with Shiftwork

Organized People

Do you have co-workers who seem to just love working the odd shifts?  Perhaps even you like working evenings and graveyards for the free time they give you during the day.  People who thrive on shiftwork share some common characteristics, and one of them is the ability to be disciplined and organized.  A well-known study done in 1986 with nurses concluded that those with “constitutions and personality factors that turned out to be favorable to shiftwork adopted regimented time disciplines both on and off the job.”¹ In my opinion, there are a couple of reasons for this: 

 

First, if you can adopt a regimented routine, you can be consistent in altering day to day habits, allowing you to work more efficiently and feel better mentally.  These functions include sleeping, eating, and exercising.  Not only is consistency important from a psychological standpoint, but physically as well.  Here’s why.

 

If you are able to shift your biological clock in accordance with demands of your job, you feel better mentally because you feel more in control of your environment.  Also, internal bodily functions, such as the production of enzymes and hormones have rhythms of their own.  When they are in sync with your work schedule, you feel better physically. 

 

How do you shift your biological clock?  Most experts agree that a change performed in stages works well.  If you need to change your sleep hours from 10:00pm – 6:00am to 8:00am to 2:00pm you may want to start going to bed later and later for a few days before the shift.  Unfortunately, many people cannot totally shift their biological clocks because it requires an “abnormal” sleep/wake schedule performed day after day, even on days off

 

Second, an organized and regimented person takes information regarding sleeping and eating habits and actually puts it to work.  For instance, we know that for the night worker, it is better to eat smaller meals than large ones.  Why?  Because when your biological clock is “out of phase” with your normal cycle, you’re often making your digestive juices work when they should be “sleeping”. And that makes you feel tired, sluggish, and out of sorts.  A disciplined person will stick to this routine, eat more small meals and snacks, and ask family and friends to be supportive and understanding.

 

If you have a family, you know how hard it is to avoid or abstain from activities that demand your attention during the time you should be sleeping.  Some of them are necessary, attractive, or there is no other choice.  But most successful shiftworkers report they have families and friends who enable them to keep unscheduled activities to a minimum.   Many employers know this, and offer counseling services to help workers and family members deal with the conflicts and demands of balancing work schedules with personal issues.

 

So what is a “disciplined” person?  For one thing, a disciplined person would have a high “Conscientiousness” scores on the Ronin Personality Indicator (http://www.ronin.dk). You know people like this.  They’re rarely late for work, they keep lists, they remember birthdays, and they’re very reliable.  Most watch what they eat, and exercise regularly.   The Ronin Indicator gives them high marks in efficiency, purposefulness, perfectionism, cautiousness, rationality, and orderliness.

 

Can you learn to be more disciplined and organized?  Although you may doubt that you could acquire a more disciplined lifestyle, it is possible to change.  I became much more organized and productive after purchasing a daily planner and receiving the accompanying training on its use.  Trying to change everything at once however will soon become overwhelming.  It is best to organize small parts of your life one at a time.  This will give you small boosts of satisfaction and motivation to continue.

 

I‘ve addressed only one component of our subject.  One fascinating aspect of shiftwork research is the breadth of the information.  Consequently, I would also like your input to help me plan future articles.  What’s important to you as a shiftwork, or as an employer?  Let me know, and we’ll tackle these issues together.

 

You can learn more about sleeping, eating, and exercise habits conducive to shiftwork at http://www.circadian.com.   You can find out more about developing an organized lifestyle at http://www.franklincovey.com.

 

¹Adams, Jeffery, Simon Folkard, and Michael Young.  “Coping Strategies Used by Nurses on Night Duty,” Ergonomics, XXIX, 2 (February, 1986)