Autumn is here, and it’s time for the temperatures to start dropping and the clocks to go back 1 hour, facilitating the nights getting dark earlier. This will mean the UK moves from (BST) British Summer Time to (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time. The reason for this is to give us more sunlight in the morning, which was introduced in 1916 to get the most out of daylight and save energy.

These days this might mean an extra hour in bed if you’re lucky, but it also means many people will now work and leave work in the dark. Risks of incidents are higher and it also makes some people feel uncomfortable. Can you relate to this?

Does night’s drawing in affect staff productivity and safety?

When it’s getting darker earlier, it can start to impact how people feel. It can make them change their daily routine and alter their mood. The lower light can impact staff both physically and mentally. Conditions such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can cause fatigue, stress, anxiety, headaches, and eye strain. These can influence productivity and may be the basis of an increase in absences. In addition, a lack of interest, Irritability, and loss of energy despite sleeping for longer can create an urge not to come out of hibernation!

But not only that, staff who once finished work and skipped home whilst enjoying the warmth of the sunshine, will find from the end of October that they will be finishing up work and walking home in the DARK and COLD. Locking up in darkness, moving from one job location to another, or making a way home can suddenly feel more lonely, vulnerable, and scary.

What are the additional risks for staff in the winter months?

With the change of light this time of the year, you also must consider the change in weather conditions for your on-site and off-site workers, especially your lone workers. During winter months, there’s a rise in:

• unsafe driving conditions
• slips and falls
• frostbite / hypothermia
• structural stress (buildings, pavements, roads etc).
• power outages

10 tips for keeping staff healthy and safe when the nights are drawing in:

We’re sure that you always have your employees’ best interests at heart and will do everything you can to make them feel safer during the long winter months. You have a legal duty of care to keep them safe, after all. We hope that some of these tips will help

1. Monitor for more severe weather and potential threats to your business premises and workers
2. Give training to staff who are vulnerable and make suitable changes to factor in weather conditions and light
3. In winter, low levels of vitamin D can impact the internal body clock, reduce the “Happy Hormone” and disrupt sleep. Educating staff on how to help alleviate the potential dip in vitamin D may help them with the symptoms above, especially helping with concentration, which is desirable in most jobs, and crucial for safety in others.
4. Identifying low light hazards. Things can look very different in a different light. It is critical that your business has adequate lighting to cover workspaces, but also be very aware of dark stairways and corners
5. Consider automatic solar lights for outside areas — cheap, easy to fit, and very effective.
6. Provide as much natural light as possible during daylight hours.
7. Consider using natural daylight bulbs that resemble natural daylight
8. With many more homeworkers than ever before, conduct regular wellness checks, and make sure you reach out if you don’t hear back
9. Have the ability to quickly notify and communicate with all staff about any last-minute changes due to the weather
10. If you employ lone workers (“Lone workers are those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision”) consider a lone-worker solution to meet your legal duty of care obligation and help keep your staff safer

Here at MyTeamSafe we can certainly help with the last three! If you would like to know more, then please do contact us.

How to ensure your own safety when it’s dark

The summer is sadly long gone, and you now find yourself still finishing your workday as the sun settles for the night, or you are walking home or just to the car in the cold and dark, and it’s not fun! There are some ways for you to ensure you stay as safe as possible.

• Avoid locking up and walking home alone. You’re more vulnerable at night
• Plan your route home and make sure people are aware of when you leave, your route and when you’re at your next location. Try to stay near busy areas
• Be always alert and avoid spending time on your mobile
• Hide expensive items
• Keep your hands free
• Trust your instincts

If you are concerned at all with your safety whilst at work, or moving from location to location outside daylight hours, ensure that you speak with your employer about the solutions available.

MyTeamSafe®, an award-winning lone-worker App & proud supporter of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust

Contact us today about our FREE trial blog@myteamsafe.com

The post 10 tips for keeping staff healthy & safe when the nights are drawing in appeared first on MyTeamSafe.

Smoother Transitions with Automatic Device Updates: 

Thanks to technology, managing the shift for daylight saving time has become notably smoother. Most internet-connected devices like computers, tablets, and smartphones will seamlessly update themselves. This means you can be confident that your gadgets will sync with the new time effortlessly, without needing manual tweaks. However, it’s still a good practice to give your devices a quick once-over to confirm the switch. After all, the last thing you’d want is to show up at work an hour earlier, disrupting that well-deserved sleep-in. Remember, technology hiccups can occasionally happen, especially if they have been switched off for a while. So, a swift glance at your devices can rescue you from potential morning mayhem. 

Why do the clocks go back in October? 

The practice of moving the clocks forward and backward, known as Daylight Saving Time (DST), is mainly done to make better use of natural daylight during the longer days of summer. The primary goal is to save energy by reducing the need for artificial lighting and to optimize energy consumption. When it was first introduced in 1916 it was mainly to save coal.  

When the clocks “spring forward” by one hour in the spring, usually around March or April, we gain an extra hour of daylight in the evening. This aims to reduce the amount of energy required for lighting homes and businesses during the evening hours. 

Conversely, when the clocks “fall back” by one hour in the Autumn “fall”, typically around October or November, we return to GMT / Standard Time. This allows us to have more daylight in the morning, which can be especially helpful for activities like commuting and school runs.

The idea behind DST is to align our waking hours with the natural daylight patterns, which can potentially lead to energy savings and various other benefits, such as increased outdoor activities and reduced traffic accidents during well-lit evenings. 

The idea of maximising “daylight” activities has been around a for a long time, it’s recorded that the Romans did it, Benjamin Franklin proposed it in the 1780’s. William Willett wrote a paper called The Waste of Daylight, which was published in 1907 (Fun Fact – Williet is a distant relative of Chris Martin of Coldplay). 

Prioritising Safety as Darkness Descends: 

As the days grow shorter and darkness blankets the evenings earlier, safety takes the spotlight, particularly for those finding themselves alone during the longer dark hours. For individuals working late on their own, Lone Working Apps like MyTeamSafe steps in to provide an extra layer of recurrence and security. Our app empowers lone workers to conveniently check in at regular intervals, offering peace of mind to both employees and employers. Whether it’s securing a facility; making visits, cleaning an office or simply being at the other end of an empty building or school, accidents can occur at any moment, and the vulnerability of lone workers heightens when it’s darker, as artificial light is much more variable and patchy. 

It’s also critical and legal duty of care to ensure the safety of employees by having accountability and the ability to request aid if necessary, in addition to already having carried out Risk Assessments. An application like ours evolves into an even more precious tool, giving an extra layer of reassurance as the nights extend, potentially bringing additional hazards.

As we prepare to welcome the shift in daylight-saving time, let’s also take some proactive steps. Check your devices to ensure they smoothly transition along with the clocks. And remember the importance of safety as darkness descends earlier. Whether you’re a lone worker or employ lone workers, consider exploring safety apps like MyTeamSafe to stay connected and protected during these darker evenings.  

MyTeamSafe®, award-winning lone-working App 
Proud supporters of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust 

The post Spring Forward, Fall Back: Making the Most of Daylight Saving Time  appeared first on MyTeamSafe.

Shift work is a dedicated set time for working, with the most common being First Shift (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm). But not everyone has that schedule of work. Some work in a rotation with a variety of different shift patterns. Industries such as Law Enforcement; Security; Transportation; Military; Healthcare; Carers; Hospitality and Petrol service station attendants, just to name a few, offer the following type of shift patterns

• FIXED SHIFTS — specific days and hours each week
• SPLIT SHIFTS — Two shifts of work split across (usually) the same day
• ON-CALL SHIFT — remain available during scheduled on-call time, and able to go to a location within a certain timeframe
• ROTATION SHIFT — staff work different shifts each week
• DAY SHIFT — early morning until the afternoon, also known as First Shift or “earlies”
• AFTERNOON SHIFT — afternoon to evening and known as second shift or “lates”
• NIGHT SHIFT — an evening to morning and also known as the third shift or referred to as the GRAVEYARD SHIFT
• WEEKEND SHIFT — working Friday nights and weekends

What are the negatives of Shift work?

Shift work can be hard on workers and needs to be planned and organised efficiently to prevent a negative impact on employees. It can increase:

• Fatigue and fatigue-related accidents
• Sickness
• Absenteeism
• Staff turnover

Shift work can decrease:

• Productivity
• Alertness
• Performance

Shift work safety

Working shift patterns can really take a toll on workers, both mentally and physically. More accidents are reported on night shifts; after successive shifts and when shifts are long, especially when there are insufficient rest breaks taken. Shift work can be hard for most people, but especially for the young, inexperienced, and those with some health conditions as their minds and bodies have not settled into this “unusual” body clock pattern.

Shift patterns can often make sleeping afterward difficult, which can then lead to further fatigue, which further unbalances hormones and upset the body clock. All of which can contribute to other physical and mental health problems. Not only can this lead to safety issues after a shift, for example driving home, but also on the job itself.

Is it illegal to work alone on a night shift?

It’s a sign of the times that more industries are working around the clock to deliver a 24/7 service, making night shifts more frequent than maybe they used to be, in more sectors than ever before. It’s not just large factories with large workforces.

Is working alone at night illegal? No, it’s not. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that employees have safe conditions to work in, and working alone at night isn’t necessarily any different from during the day. An employer will need to ensure they know the safety laws that apply to all work-related activities and carry out a full risk assessment.

Put simply; understand the potential risks, and create a safe system of work.

How can working alone on a shift be made safer?

Lone working during any shift, but especially a night shift, can make workers feel vulnerable if there are insufficient procedures and safety measures put in place for protection and to ensure peace of mind. So, a suitable system should be considered and used to ensure that lone workers are monitored and able to check in at set intervals. If a check-in is missed, then a robust escalation procedure should come into play, that will ensure that other members of staff are immediately notified and follow up on the staff members’ safety.

MyTeamSafe®, an award-winning lone-worker App & proud supporter of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust

Contact us today about our FREE trial blog@myteamsafe.com

The post What is Shift work? appeared first on MyTeamSafe.