by H.B. Corse

Created on: July 03, 2009

There was a time in American History, relatively recently, during which a twenty four hour business was hard to find. Entire city's would roll up the side walks around nine every night and the only people out after that were police and the bad guys. Things have changed. American society has become a twenty four hour society, and businesses have adapted quickly to the change. The allure of sixteen more hours of operational time was just too much for many businesses to resist, and so the police and the bad guys lost their monopoly of the night shift. The growing popularity of shift work may be an economic boost for the economy, but it has an effect on employees that should not be ignored. Shift workers have to deal with the possible deterioration of their health, family life, and social life as a result of their rotating schedule.

One source of debate and the subject of countless studies is the effect of shift work on employee health. Recent studies have shown that the shift worker, especially when involving a rotating night shift schedule, can negatively effect the employee's health in a variety of ways. Working overnight shifts tends to upset the human body's natural circadian rhythm, which can adversely effect digestion and REM sleep. Shift workers, regardless if working an overnight shift or not, tend to have more problems with digestion, ulcers, and sleep issues than those working traditional schedules, so with the addition of a midnight shift these problems are often magnified. Other health issues such as heart disease, certain forms of cancer, and drug and alcohol abuse are also more common in shift workers than in workers with traditional schedules. The changing shifts and odd hours also make exercise routines and diet difficult if not nearly impossible to maintain.

It is not only a challenge to stay healthy as a shift worker, but also to keep your family life healthy. Changing shifts interrupts family routines, and healthy families depend greatly on routine to function. This dependence on routine can cause an isolation of the employee during certain shifts, and their presence can be come a disruption when on shifts where they can be involved. The variation in shifts can also cause long periods of time when one parent is forced to manage all household and/or child care duties alone. This fluctuation of responsibilities can leave a spouse feeling overwhelmed or like a "single parent" if children are involved. Married shift workers

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