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By Estelle Morrison

There’s a lot of discussion in HR circles these days about the importance of a good night’s sleep, and the importance it plays into the overall scope of corporate health and wellness. Harvard researchers have referred to sleep as “the third pillar of wellness” alongside diet and exercise, and this is true for everyone. No one, whether employed in the corporate setting or elsewhere, is immune to the need for a good night’s sleep.

Canadian employees are simply not getting enough sleep, according to the results of Why Canadian Workers are Losing Sleep where Harris Decima surveyed 366 full-time Canadian employees on behalf of Ceridian.

The survey results confirm how damaging sleep deficiency is to productivity, and details what employees want from Canadian employers with respect to supporting good sleep habits or sleep hygiene. Only half of respondents feel they are getting the sleep they need to feel rested. You could make the argument that some workers are more vulnerable than others. Shift workers may be more vulnerable to sleep issues than those who work a standard 9 to 5 schedule. Let’s explore why.

The uncertain job schedule
Part of the problem here is that it’s very difficult for workers to fall into a regular sleep schedule when their schedules at work aren’t regular, either. Numerous businesses that employ people in shifts have a nasty habit of re-jigging people’s schedules on a constant basis, moving them to this shift and that shift nonstop. Ceridian’s polling data shows that only 41 per cent of today’s employees have a constant shift schedule, and 12 per cent are subjected to change weekly. This can make it quite difficult to get a good night’s sleep.

Shifting this way and that
While any shift can be disruptive, some are worse than others. Here’s where it gets tricky – the worst thing you can do for someone’s sleep schedule is move their work shift in the counter-clockwise direction, or earlier in the day. Because what are people usually doing a couple of hours before work? They’re sleeping. And if you move someone’s schedule and force them to work when their body expects to be sleeping, it throws off their circadian rhythms and makes them more likely to become disengaged – maybe even sleeping on the job.

Serious consequences ahead
You may think this is no big deal, but poor sleep habits among shift workers can have numerous deleterious effects in the workplace. One is deteriorating health. People who don’t sleep well tend to run a greater risk of stress, heart trouble and other medical problems. They’re also risking workplace accidents by doing their jobs without the proper rest. Also, think about the commute! Someone driving to work when they’re not well-rested is risking a potentially fatal car crash. All of the above should be grave concerns.

HR must show awareness
For all these reasons, it’s important for HR to be more aware of employees’ concerns when it comes to the always-shifting schedule. And sadly, in many cases they aren’t doing enough. Ceridian’s research shows that 41 per cent of businesses have no clear schedule in place for their employees, and worse yet, 17 per cent don’t even know whether they have one. Companies can do better, and if they truly care about health and wellness, they will.

For a complimentary copy of the Canadian sleep survey report, click here.

Estelle Morrison, Ceridian LifeWorks Vice President of Clinical and Wellness Services, has more than 25 years of experience managing EAP services.

Ceridian Canada is part of the Ceridian group of companies. Ceridian is a leader in human capital management with more than 100,000 clients across the globe. Our offering includes the award winning, cloud-based Dayforce HCM, LifeWorks, PowerPay and International Payroll. For more information about Ceridian HR and payroll solutions, visit www.ceridian.ca or call 1-877-237-4342. Follow Ceridian on: Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn