Benefits of the Working Nights Calendar
When employees and their families use the calendar as a work/life balance tool, they realize the significant benefits the calendar provides. Employers also benefit because their employees are more likely to be prepared for work when they arrive on the job.There are many, many benefits to using the calendar. A few are highlighted below:
Benefits to Employees and Families
By planning ahead, the time you allocate to work, family life, personal time, and sleep will help you maintain optimal health.
Sleep deprivation is one of the major complaints of employees working in 24/7 operations. We need, on average, about eight hours of sleep to perform our best the next day and to maintain optimal health. But, the average 24/7 worker only sleeps 5.4 hours per day.
By scheduling pre-arranged time with your spouse, children, parents and other family members, you maintain deeper social connections.
Nonstandard schedules result in complicated family lives. The already high divorce rates are even higher when one partner works fixed nights and the couple has children.
You are safer and more productive at work when you are well rested and have a feeling of well-being from being on top of your other responsibilities.
Workers in 24/7 operations report that they regularly fall asleep on the job. Up to 40% of all accidents on the job are estimated by researchers to be fatigue related. And, then there are the accidents that occur on the way to or from work; a substantial amount of these accidents are believed to be fatigue related as well.
Benefits to Employers
Providing employees and their families with a tool that helps them maintain work/life balance shows positive concern for employee well-being.
When employees maintain an appropriate work/life balance, productivity increases and absenteeism and employee turnover are reduced.
When employees use the calendar tips to maintain optimal health, the cost of health care is reduced for employers and employees.
Risk factors such as obesity and smoking, two factors more common among 24/7 workers vs. daytime workers, have been proven to contribute to other, costly chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and emphysema.
Workplace accidents can have a material impact on a company financially, and can also seriously damage a company’s reputation.
After an appropriate sleep and recovery period, memory performance is improved 20-30%; likely leading to improved attention to detail at work and lowering the risk of accidents on the job and to and from work.
