In today’s fast paced world, individuals work really hard day in and day out. While there are many professional career options these days, most of them demand employees to work in rotational shifts or to work in odd timings. Such employees face problems to manage the lost hours of sleep and rest. Some of the common health issues seen in these employees are mentioned below.
Short-Term Health Disorders of Rotating Shift Workers
Following are some of the short-term health effects of rotational shift workers:
- Increased risk of accidents and injuries
- Gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, loss of appetite, constipation, heartburn, and diarrhoea.
- Diminished quality of life
- Lack of physical strength and frequent health issues
Long-Term Health Disorders of Rotating Shift Workers
Recent studies reveal numerous hazardous health issues amongst individuals working in rotational shifts.
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Cardiovascular Disease
As per recent studies, a rotational shift worker is at 5% increased risk of ailments like heart attacks, strokes, etc. than the regular employees.
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Diabetes and Metabolic Issues
Studies have also confirmed that employees working in shifts have a risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome which consequently results in high blood sugar, increased blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol levels.
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Obesity
Working in rotational shifts enforces a poor diet, lack of exercise, and hormonal imbalances, all of which results in obesity.
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Mood Disorders and Depression
Some studies reveal that shift workers are more likely to experience symptoms of mood disorders and depression. Rotational working hours result in social isolation which directly affects the brain. Working in shifts results in lower levels of serotonin hormone secretion, which plays a key role in causing such health issues.
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Menstrual/Pregnancy Complications
Shift working hours can affect the reproductive system of a woman. It can lead to severe complications, like irregular menstrual cycles, endometriosis, infertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), miscarriage, complications during pregnancy/delivery, low birth weight baby, and premature delivery.
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Cancer
According to a research submitted by WHO in 2007, shift working hours have resulted in increased cancer patients.
Best Health Prevention Tips for Shift Workers
Employees working in rotational shifts experience much more health problems as compared to the ones working for regular/fixed hours. A corporate setting should opt for the following solutions with the sole purpose of a happy and healthy employee.
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Employee Wellness Programs
The organizations must introduce appropriate employee wellness programs to ensure the employees are provided with proper health care.
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Preventive Health Checkup
Organizations should regularly introduce preventive health checkup plans to identify any health risk in an employee, before it becomes too complex or difficult to treat.
It is now clear that working in rotational shift is connected to various health issues. Propagating work-friendly environment, employee wellness programs and prioritizing your employees’ health are the best options to have healthy and happy employees.
If you intend to have a healthy workforce, which in turn spell your success, take a step now with introducing employee wellness programs and corporate health checkups. Please fill the query form below for more information related to this.
