Browsing: Shift work | Page 6

A study on a workplace sleep issue that costs Australian employers $2.25 billion per year has highlighted the strategic use of caffeine, light and sound to counteract grogginess and cognitive impairments.

Insufficient sleep can have immediate and long-term impacts on injury rates, and quickly identifying and treating sleep difficulties in workers can reduce incidents both within workplaces and during commutes, researchers have found.

An employer that made wholesale changes to a unit's roster has been found liable for a worker's insomnia, in a decision exploring whether abolishing an employee's ability to work from home constitutes a transfer or the removal of an employment benefit.

Scheduled nap breaks for night shift workers can improve alertness and safety when they're most likely to be fatigued, but the strategy has mixed results for melatonin regulation.

An appeals court has confirmed a firefighter's "career-ending PTSD", from fighting what is believed to be Australia's worst ever house fire, did not result from any alleged acts of negligence by his employer, including its decision not to rotate crews.

The decision of two workers to drive home in convoy after night shifts created a "real and substantial connection" between their employment and an accident that led to one of them developing post-traumatic stress disorder, a commission has ruled.

Regulatory strategies aimed at curbing drug use, speeding and driving while fatigued in the heavy vehicle sector are doing little to address the systemic causes of this behaviour, highlighting the urgent need for an independent body empowered to eliminate unsafe economic practices, a Senate inquiry has found.

Sleep surveillance should be part of routine workplace training and medical assessment procedures for industries where fatigue is a safety risk factor, UK researchers say in a study demonstrating the prevalence of low sleep efficiency.

Accommodation facilities for workers should be equipped with "panic buttons", specially trained security personnel and other safety measures, unions have told a parliamentary inquiry into the harassment of women in the fly-in-fly-out industry.

A new practical framework has been launched to help resources employers address the mental health challenges posed by varying rosters, remote work locations and FIFO arrangements. Meanwhile, the sector's peak body has declared its support for a "positive duty" in anti-discrimination laws, citing problems with the WHS regime.