THE way patterns of shift work are organised could be causing major health problems, according to a pair of reports commissioned by the UK government body that regulates workplace safety.
The reports, prepared for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), show that offshore oil workers adopting the most popular shift pattern have a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes. This pattern also makes workers more tired and inattentive, increasing the chance of accidents and mistakes.
Chronobiologist Josephine Arendt and her team at the University of Surrey in Guildford and psychologist Andrew Smith and colleagues at Cardiff University in Wales…
