[403] - Why One-Off Shift Work Training Isn't Enough for 24/7 Workforces

Text me what you thought of the show 😊

Why One-Off Shift Work Training Isn't Enough for 24/7 Workforces

What happens after your workplace shift work training ends?

A seminar can create awareness. It can give shift workers those important lightbulb moments where they finally understand why they struggle with sleep, fatigue, nutrition, recovery and life around a 24/7 roster.

But what happens three weeks later? Three months later? Or when a new employee starts six months later?

In this episode of A Healthy Shift, I explore why one-off shift work training should be the beginning of an organisation's strategy, not the end.

After more than 40 years of frontline 24/7 shift work, I believe most shift workers aren't lacking motivation. They've simply never been properly educated about how working outside conventional hours affects their biology or what they can practically do about it.

I discuss the difference between providing information and building internal shift work capability, why education enables individual responsibility, and why expecting chronically fatigued workers to remember and implement everything from a single wellbeing session is unrealistic.

I also explain the thinking behind Shift Work Champions™: educating the broader workforce, then developing people within the organisation who can help keep those conversations alive on shift, in the workplace and in real time.

If your organisation is dealing with shift worker fatigue, high staff turnover, unplanned leave, poor morale or a workforce struggling with the demands of 24/7 work, this episode asks an important question:

What happens after the training?

Learn more about Shift Work Champions™ and the Enterprise Framework through the link in the show notes.

Because it doesn't have to be this way.

In this episode

•  Why one-off shift work training has limitations 
•  Why most shift workers were never taught how to work shifts 
•  The difference between workforce education and internal capability 
•  Why fatigue isn't simply a motivation problem 
•  Why education enables responsibility 
•  What Shift Work Champions™ are, and what they are not 
•  How organisations can keep shift work education alive after the educator leaves 
•  Why sustainable shift work support needs to extend beyond another wellbeing presentation

Support the show

----------------------------

Roger Sutherland is Australia's Night Shift & Sleep Specialist and the founder of A Healthy Shift.

After more than 40 years working rotating shifts with Victoria Police, Roger now helps organisations reduce fatigue risk, improve staff wellbeing and build healthier, safer and higher-performing 24/7 workplaces through evidence-based education, circadian biology and the Shift Work Champions™ Framework.

Shift Work Champions™: https://join.ahealthyshift.com/shift-work-capability

Website: https://ahealthyshift.com.au

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roger-sutherland

Instagram: @a_healthy_shift

___________________

Disclaimer: Roger Sutherland is not a doctor or a medical professional.  Always consult a physician before implementing any strategies mentioned in this podcast. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Roger Sutherland will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of the information contained in this podcast, including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness, or death.

_______________________