Circadian disruptions affect workers' willingness to speak up about hazards, unsafe plant practices, and quality problems, unless encouraged. Workers can derive inspiration from programs that encourage them to find and solve their own quality and safety issues, improve as a team, and have input into decision-making. One plant manager of McBride's acquaintance makes a practice of coming into the plant on Sundays, specifically to talk with his weekend-shift workers and solicit input. Yet giving some thought to the human factors involved in running a 24-hr. operation can yield big benefits in terms of safer, more productive shiftworkers. It includes suggestions about what managers can do to improve the health and alertness of shiftworkers.
Research suggests that work schedules can be improved in a number of ways.
One shiftwork strategy that has become popular in the past few years could be among the most damaging. It calls for employees to work 10 to 14 days in a row, followed by 5 to 7 days off. If the workload includes heavy physical or mental work, or monotonous routine, night shifts should be shortened. Move the most dangerous work to daytime shifts. Examine rest breaks.