RECENTLY commissioned research will seek to provide insight into the relationship between roster practices and fatigue, writes AREEA workplace policy officer Luke Achterstraat.
Researchers from the Appleton Institute for Behavioural Science in Adelaide are using a $300,000 grant from the Australian Research Council to determine whether it is more beneficial for workers in some circumstances to work more than one shift and have two short sleeps per day. The study will examine whether such split work-rest schedules can enhance cognitive performance.
The research will test the common assumption that one long sleep every day is the best way to recover from work-related fatigue.
“Our results will inform the development of work schedules for industries and/or situations where it may be appropriate to work more than one shift per day,” Associate Professor Greg Roach said.
In a mining context, split schedules might prove ideal for fly-in-fly-out shift workers who are separated from their everyday routines. According to Roach, the assumption that one sleep a day is better for workers ‘may be flawed’.
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“The main advantage of [split] schedules is that they avoid long periods of ‘wake’ by allowing more frequent recovery,” he said.
The commissioned research comes off the back of AREEA’s Health, Safety and Environment Advisory Group (HSEAG) meeting in Brisbane in October, where rosters, fatigue and productivity were all firmly on the agenda. At that meeting, AREEA’s policy team presented findings from past studies undertaken around Australian in various FIFO contexts. These included:
- a University of Queensland study that found no link between roster cycles and fatigue;
- a study by James Cook university that found increased levels of occupational fatigue at the finish of night shifts one to three and from day shift eight onwards; and
- a study by the University of South Australia found that various roster cycles had no impact on levels of sleep debt;
Understanding the impact of various roster cycles on employee fatigue is an important issue and clearly more research is needed to understand the numerous complexities involved. AREEA’s HSEAG will continue to monitor latest research development and AREEA encourages members wishing to get involved to contact Luke Achterstraat or Lisa Matthews on (02) 9211 3566.
