Responding is Pete Batrowny, senior consultant, SafeStart, Belleville, Ontario.
For many industries – manufacturing, health care, emergency response and hospitality, to name a few – operations don’t stop when the sun goes down. The night shift keeps things running, yet it comes with unique safety challenges that often go unaddressed. Leadership structure, workplace culture and employee well-being all look a little different for people working through the night. Organizations need to consider supervisory, safety culture and employee engagement factors to ensure both productivity and safety.
Many night shifts operate without traditional management oversight. Instead, they rely on supervisors or lead hands who may not have the same level of experience as their day-shift counterparts. Some organizations can treat night shifts like a training ground for new leaders or a place to hide supervisors with weaker leadership skills. It’s also dismayingly easy for night shifts to become siloed from the rest of the organization. All of this can lead to a lack of safety leadership that may negatively impact incident rates.
It’s also worth noting that the work environment at night is often very different from the day shift. Some workers describe it as more relaxed because of the absence of upper management, which can lead to lax safety practices such as ignoring personal protective equipment requirements or informal rule changes. Over time, this can snowball into a night-shift culture that’s unattuned to safety concerns.
Additionally, reporting trends may vary: Some night shifts have higher near-miss reporting because of closer-knit teams, while others underreport because of a fear of scrutiny. Understanding these dynamics is critical to improving safety and efficiency.
Leadership needs to take steps to establish connections between the night shift and day shifts. It also needs to build communication and leadership skills in night-shift supervisors, and ensure they have the necessary competencies to manage safety issues ranging from PPE to human factors – and everything in between. Night-shift leaders need the same training, support and skills as frontline supervisors on other shifts. Skilled supervisors are necessary on a night shift because they have an outsized influence on how processes are followed and what the prevailing attitude is toward safety. Lastly, employee engagement can be a major concern for night-shift workers, who often feel that decisions are made without their input. Committee meetings, training sessions and policy discussions frequently happen during the day, leaving off-shift workers disengaged. Over time, this can lead to major ruptures in night-shift workers’ attitudes toward their employer.
Employers must ask themselves whether they’re offering night workers the same training and skills-development opportunities. This is true for both ongoing training as well as new training initiatives. Employers should make sure that night-shift workers have representation in decision-making, and that they feel as valued as their day-shift counterparts.
A successful night shift isn’t only about keeping operations running – it’s about creating an environment where workers feel safe, heard and engaged. Leaders who understand the unique challenges of the night shift can build stronger teams, improve morale and reduce costly errors around the clock.
Editor’s note: This article represents the independent views of the author and should not be considered a National Safety Council endorsement.
