Overwork: Sleep Deprivation and Other Effects
Introduction
While some people struggle because they cannot find enough work to supplement their lives and families, others struggle because they are working too much. There has been a lot of research pertaining to overwork and the effects on individuals and organizations. One prominent issue that has been found to result from overwork is that of sleep deprivation. When a person does not get the proper amount of rest, other problems such as poor health, lower performance, insanity and even death can arise (Smith, 2016). These are just problems the individual faces. Families, employers and clients are also negatively affected when workers are tired and overworked. This paper will explore the ways that individuals may be susceptible to overwork and the problems that can arise from the lack of rest that comes from working too much. Is there anything that we can do in order to prevent overwork and the risks that come with it? Finally, this paper will discuss how individuals, companies, society and government can prevent overwork.
Overwork
The reasons that people work long hours vary. Some individuals work long hours because they carry more than one job in which pay is very low, so they need the extra income. Others work overtime because their employers schedule them for long hours. Most employers only offer benefits to those who work full-time, so workers continue to work longer hours just to keep health insurance, even if they aren’t healthy enough to work those hours. Some believe that the culture of the company or the industry as a whole pressures them to work long hours (Fursman, 2009).
While we often think of overwork resulting from too many hours at the office or overtime, technology has made overwork an even more pressing issue because of the constant connectivity employees have with coworkers and supervisors. Email is one the most prominent forms of communication that companies use and texting is becoming more and more common. I can attest to feeling stressed when I have to respond to work text messages on my day off or when I just settled down to dinner with my family. The time at the office is done but the work day is not necessarily over when an employee punches out. Salaried workers typically don’t keep track of hours worked and sometimes can feel a sense of obligation to work from home or when they are on vacation.
Vacation time or paid time off is another topic that should be discussed when dealing with overwork. While vacation can provide a time to rest and relax, it is not a benefit that all workers enjoy. Individuals that work part-time or receive hourly wages often do not get any vacation time. In fact the United States Government does not have a federal law that requires employers to offer vacation time for workers. However, even those with time off, often work during vacations or do not take their vacations at all. “American workers are averaging five unused days of paid time off per year” (Amato, 2017).
The inability to disconnect can be a symptom of workaholism. “Studies show that workaholics have distinct neurological and psychiatric profiles similar to those addicted to narcotics (Smith, 2016).” Workaholics often will put work as top priority over family and leisure. They are constantly looking for more time to work and do so in order to reduce anxiety or depression. Workaholics often have increased sleep problems. Not only can sleep deprivation lead to decreased work performance and increased errors, but it can also lead to serious health issues including heart trouble, chronic back pain and panic attacks. “Karoshi” is a term that means sudden death by overwork. Depression resulting from failure to achieve work related goals, unfortunately can lead to suicide. Workaholism and karoshi is such a major social problem that the Japanese government mandates vacation time. It is believed that Japan’s former prime minister, Keizo Obuchi’s fatal stroke was a result from overwork (Smith, 2016).
Sleep Deprivation and Other Effects
The problem of sleep deprivation and fatigue is a prominent one with a great body of research dedicated to understanding the implications in the healthcare industry. One reason for sleep deprivation being high in the healthcare professions is the presence of shift work. Many workers in healthcare must work long, sometimes more than 12 hour shifts with some even working 24 hours straight. Others work overnight, such as nurses and EMS providers. Because medical emergencies happen at all hours of the day, there must be personnel ready to respond at all hours. Night shift workers often have difficulty sleeping because of off-balance sleep and wake cycles, also known as circadian misalignment (Erich, 2011). This occurs from difficulty sleeping during the day due to alternating start times. Other types of sleep deprivation include acute deprivation, resulting from one night’s missed sleep, and chronic deprivation, which occurs after several nights of inadequate sleep. The implications from sleep deprivation of healthcare workers is that if fatigue leads to poorer performance. When that performance involves the lives of people, should it be regulated more heavily than allowing 24 hour shifts? When researching EMS drivers, Erich found that sleep deprivation decreased performance on a par with alcohol use (2011). In one study by Williamson and Feyer, it was found that drivers who were awake for 17-19 hours performed worse than people with moderate level blood alcohol content (2000). Dawson and Reid found in another study that workers who were awake for at least 24 hours performed a level equal to people with a .10% blood alcohol content (1997). That is well over the legal limit in the United States, which is .08%. If there are policies prohibiting workers from working under the influence of alcohol and federal laws that prohibit drivers from operating a vehicle with a .08% blood alcohol level, there is good reason to limit the shift hours to a comparable level.
Speaking of another effect of overwork, research has found that people who work longer hours than the standard 40 hour work week are 11% more likely to participate in heavy alcohol consumption than those who stick to the norm. Even more risky alchohol behaviors are acquired when people work 49-54 hours. This research analysis includes studies from 14 different countries, including the United States, with data from over 330,000 people. It has not found different associations based on location or gender (Sarchet, 2015). Alcohol use probably is a coping mechanism used to unwind and deal with stress and sleep disturbances. If an individual is working a lot and drinking a lot, then they probably are not sleeping enough in order to be as productive as they can be in the workplace or even at home for that matter.
Problems at Home
Problems at home and with the family can result from overwork. A study drawn on the New Zealand census in 2006 and includes interviews with 17 families that have at least one parent working long hours, discusses the effects on family life (Fursman, 2009). A few of the main themes from these interviews included long hours leading to sleep deprivation and fatigue to less energy for parenting. These workers noted that not being available or having the energy to spend time with family negatively impacted their children and spouses.
Workplace Problems
It is evident that sleep deprivation affects the individual’s health; causing a loss of brain function, increased drinking habits, heart problems, and poorer work performance. All of these issues also negatively affect the employer. Earlier, I mentioned that lives could be in danger if medical personnel were overworked, tired, and could not perform their jobs satisfactorily. This is perhaps the worst, but customers and clients can be impacted in other ways. Such as, if an employee were fatigued because they worked a long shift, barely got any sleep and then came in and worked another long shift, they might be irritable and low energy. If this person worked in customer service, that customer would most likely not get the same experience as if they were dealing with a fresh and energetic employee. Working in the restaurant industry, I see this everyday. If my team members are working double shifts, they become tired and I have more guest complaints toward the end of the day. An example the demonstrates this is that on Sundays I have the most doubles scheduled out of any day of the week. We have surveys that every guest is asked to take rating their experience. My restaurant has the lowest guest experience on Sundays compared to any other day of the week. I think about how guest satisfaction affects my business and it is, in fact, the most important part of my business so therefore I want my employees to be rested and able to give my guests a great experience. There are many other industries in which overwork can negatively impact the customer. Retail, call-center, public transportation, and distribution, are all examples of this. If the company does not deal with customers or clients, which is very rare, there are still ways in which fatigued workers can negatively impact their business. Take data entry or clerical work for example. Decreased brain function, would probably affect work in these jobs and lead to more errors. These errors cost the employer money to fix. Not only errors are a problem. With poorer performance comes decreased productivity as well. Companies do not want to pay for a worker to be there for 10-12 hours when they could have gotten just as much work done in 5-6 hours. It has been found that individuals cannot work longer than a few hours and keep the level of productivity high. A survey of UK office workers suggests that working five to six hour days may be better for productivity (Weller, 2017). There are also issues like increased turnover and health costs that employees must pay for due to overworked employees quitting or becoming ill.
Remedies for Overwork
Individuals can learn how overwork affects their lives and work. They can meditate each day, and follow a strict sleep schedule. Also, if workers have time off, then they can make sure to use it. Speaking from personal experience, I am lucky to have 4 weeks of paid vacation and I am allowed to sell one week if I want to. My boss always told me, “you can sell your vacation, but the time off is priceless.” I would agree, that not only is it priceless for me but if I am refreshed, I will do a better job for her and my organization.
Organizations are beginning to understand the importance of requiring managers and staff to take time off from work. With lower quality work, turnover, and increased health costs, it is important to encourage a work/life balance for employees. A lot of companies now offer flexible working schedules, and even Amazon has tested a 30-hour workweek including benefits. Companies can offer incentives for working-less hours and track them by having employees, even salaried, clock in and out. I would appreciate it if my supervisor would not text me or call me on my days off, as I am not able to get out of work mode very easily if I am constantly hearing from my boss. Companies should
encourage workers to take time off and offer everyone vacation time in order to have a more productive workplace overall.
There are things that the government can do as well. First thing should be to raise the federal minimum wage. If workers were paid a fair living wage, there would be less reason to work more than one job. Government’s can also follow in Japan’s footsteps and implement a law stating that workers can refuse to work more than 48 hours a week. If the government mandated paid-time off, that is a good start. The United States is the only developed nation that does not require businesses to offer paid time off or vacation The Netherlands has the second lowest paid vacation days with 20. The international leader in paid time off, including vacation and holidays, is Austria with 38 (Sweet & Meiksins, 2017).