"If This Were a Nuclear Plant, We'd All be Speaking Chinese"

Having just witnessed my partner and I fast asleep in the control room, he was in no mood for excuses. It was 3:30 a.m.

“It’s not our fault,” I protested.

Actually, I felt guilty, but rather than taking the blows head-on, I attempted to take the offensive.

“I worked twelve hours overtime yesterday, and I got very little sleep before this shift. Gimme a break!”

I received discipline in the form of three days off without pay. As it turned out, those were the only days off I had in the entire month, so actually they did me a favor.

The abuse overtime by employers is one of the tragedies of shiftwork. The schedule only works for employees when they get their much-deserved days off. Rest and recuperation are indelibly linked to our allotted “down-time.” I believe a study should be conducted, (If not already done) that investigates the possible link between accidents and amounts of overtime worked.

Nevertheless, I learned to develop ways to stay awake, and it is critically important that we all use methods to stay as alert as possible, especially in safety-sensitive jobs. Aside from getting enough sleep at home (an important topic for other articles), there are several things you can do to wake yourself up and stay awake during your night shifts.

I have written about what the research says, and about what some shiftworkers report as ways of staying awake and alert on the job. Here are a few things I did to stay out of trouble with my boss. I tried to get enough sleep at home, but I didn’t always succeed. There were so many distractions, and the challenges of raising a young son often interfered with my much-needed rest. So typically, especially during the first few night shifts, I had to make a conscious effort to do things differently.

1. The first thing I did was turn all the control room lights on. This illuminated the work area to the point of distraction. It was so bright I wanted to wear sunglasses (but that would defeat the purpose).

2. I tuned the radio to a rock and roll channel. I couldn’t stand some of the “elevator” music that some of the operators listened to. That would put anyone to sleep.

3. I brought games to play. (My work did not demand constant attention to the control board. Signaling alarms would always get my attention if anything needed to be done.) I brought crossword puzzles, and sometimes even an electronic chess game. Some guys brought books to read, but reading often puts me to sleep. Technical manuals on night shift were deadly. Others worked on model airplanes or trains. I sometimes brought a putter and a golf ball and worked on my putting stroke.

Go To Page: 1 2