April 16, 2004—According to Circadian, Inc., while the advantages of running a business beyond the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. are obvious, there are often costs and liabilities attached to these extended hours of operation. Most often, the burden falls on the facility managers and shift supervisors to mitigate losses due to the absenteeism, tardiness, injury, turnover, and excessive overtime that occur more frequently during extended hours. These managers need to be able to measure their results against those of their peers. That’s why each year, international research and consulting firm Circadian gathers data from all industries that use shiftwork, and presents the results in its Shiftwork Practices report, the gold standard for assessing and comparing trends vital to the 24/7 economy.
Highlights from last year’s survey results include:
- Workers’ compensation claims are 15 times higher at extended hours operations with severe fatigue problems than at those reporting no fatigue problems.
- Absenteeism rates 5.8% in 2003 among extended hours workers, three times higher than the average rate of 1.9% for the entire U.S. workforce over the same period.
- Average turnover in extended hours facilities was 10% in 2003 compared with 3.4% in all U.S. companies.
- Nearly two-thirds of employers pay a shift differential to both salaried and hourly employees as an incentive to work non-daytime hours.
Shiftwork Practices provides the latest trends and key performance indicators and, where relevant, breaks down information by region and industry to help show how the data vary. Circadian also makes predictions for trends in for the coming year, so that managers can better determine what actions they may need to take.
To participate in the survey, visit Circadian.
