Lack of sleep is costing the UK economy £50 billion per year

On January 10th 2023, Night Club’s founder, Sarah Douglas, was invited to give evidence in Parliament about the impact of night shift work at the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee Hearing. This article is an excerpt from the hearing.

Our economy is dependent on a hidden army of people who work through the night. They represent 1 in 5 workers. The number of night shift workers has been growing in the UK, from 5% of employees in 2013 to 22% of workers in April 2020. During the pandemic, 7 million UK adults worked night shifts, including 3.8 million key workers. At a time of national crisis, we continued to depend on them to pull us through. This same workforce is squaring up to the sharp end of the cost of living crisis.

Whilst the number of night shift workers is rising, education on the risks of nighttime working remains disparagingly low. Of the 706 night shift workers we spoke to from three of Night Club’s largest corporate clients, 79% knew little or nothing about the health impact of working night shifts.

The Issue

Night shift work is hugely disruptive to the lives of many workers. Their relationships and friendships are put under strain and their long-term mental and physical health is put at risk, simply because they work at night. Failing to recognise the impact that night work has on our health and wellbeing is negatively impacting the UK economy, simply because sleep deprived workers are not as productive. Productivity losses in the UK due to inadequate sleep are estimated at £28 billion a year and if health and other costs are included, this rises to a £50 billion loss. If we calculate the cost for night shift workers alone, the estimated total loss is £14 billion a year.

There is a huge lack of research regarding the impact of night shift work on sleep disruption, performance and productivity, which makes it very difficult to attain an accurate analysis of the issue. This is something that the UK government and employers can help to solve.

The Impact

Chronic sleep disruption experienced by night shift workers can impact both physical and mental health, leading to multiple long-term health conditions. Studies of shift workers show that they are at a much higher risk of type II diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, cancers, heart and stroke problems, obesity, depression, and memory loss than employees who work regular 9–5 roles.

Alongside this, night shift workers are 75% more likely than day workers to say they often feel left out at work and 48% more likely than day workers to say they often feel that their managers think their work is easier than it is. There will always be a need for night shift workers, but there are measures that can be taken to protect staff health and improve long-term productivity in the workplace.

What can the government do?

• Appoint a ministerial portfolio or Tsar — To help drive this agenda, the government should appoint a tsar or minister to lead on this issue. This Minister will be able to drive industry action by employers, starting with better data collection that can inform best practice.
• Assemble a steering group — The appointed minister or tsar should lead the creation of a steering group or roundtable of industry leaders. This would bringing together relevant stakeholders to agree on progress and discuss best practice. This group can share successful responses to challenges in specific environments, and what does not go so well to learn from past mistakes. We recognise that obligations around reporting and standards should be implemented in a way which minimises time costs for employers, so making employers part of this discussion is key to introducing measures that are effective.
• Create a dedicated workstream within relevant department — The impact of night shift work on health and business is not yet clearly identified as a separate workstream in any specific department. This is despite a wealth of evidence highlighting the measures can be taken to improve employee health and safety. Civil Service teams should clearly articulate their plans for the area, alongside a new workstream to be established under the minister’s portfolio. OHID (Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) would be a sensible vehicle for this.
• Standardise a best practice guide for employers — Best practice for improving night shift workers health can be widely adopted, so a standard guide of best practice for employers would be an effective educational tool that can also be scaled. This could be applied through a standard health and safety module, which employers must make available to night shift employees. The toolkit should include up to date information on how employers can best mitigate the impact of night working.
• Implement mandatory health checks — At present there is insufficient requirement for employers to ensure that night shift workers can safely work night shifts. Introducing a mandatory obligation for employers to carry out health checks before workers start regularly working night shifts would help to screen out those who are at a particularly high risk. In doing so, this would prevent the number of adverse health consequences continuing to rise.
• Increase funding for further research — Further funded research into what can be done to help mitigate the associated health implications of night shifts would help companies and authorities to create better systems of protection for workers. OHID could be the vehicle for government funding into this area.
• Open a government inquiry— Following on from the BEIS committee inquiry into the future of UK Labour markets, BEIS should hold a further government inquiry exploring the night time economy, including the health and productivity of night shift workers. This will provide a clear vehicle for industry stakeholders to submit evidence and play a part in providing better conditions for night shift workers.

What can employers do?

• Installing bright lights in the working environment to increase alertness
• Higher frequency health-checks to detect problems early and institute interventions to prevent chronic conditions
• Vigilance devices in the workplace and for the drive home to protect the safety of workers
• Developing educational materials for the families of night shift workers explaining the impact and consequences of sleep loss
• Appropriate food/nutrition in the workplace, replacing high-fat high-sugar foods with protein rich and easy to digest snacks
• Educational materials regarding best sleep practice
• Chronotyping of individuals to accommodate preferred sleep/wake patterns for rotas/allocation of work patterns

Night Club, Images © Kate Moseley)

What is Night Club?

Night Club is a unique, interactive education experience designed to communicate sleep health information and support night shift workers to improve their health, wellbeing and engagement at work. We visit employees at work and provide information and advice from sleep scientists and mental health professionals.

Night Club is committed to educating shift workers on how they can positively impact their own sleep health through a direct intervention; to influencing corporates to provide better working conditions for shift workers; and to support policy-makers in designing and delivering initiatives that will encourage businesses to take action.

Our ambition follows the 5 Rs:

1. Recognise and champion night workers as a unique, distinct group
2. Respond to their needs — place night shift workers at the heart of any solution
3. Respect and understand that night shift workers face a specific set of challenges in a variety of working conditions
4. Research-led — we build an evidence-base to implement evidence-based solutions
5. Raise the profile of night shift work and mobilise a cross-industry response to mitigate these challenges

Backed by the Wellcome Trust, Impact on Urban Health and University of Oxford’s Sleep a Circadian Neuroscience Institute, NIGHT CLUB has worked with over 25 employer partners across the UK, including Co-op, GXO, Veolia, Thames Water, Network Rail, the NHS and BAE Systems. They are all seeing the benefits of the programme, which is proven to be highly effective at addressing the negative impacts of sleep deprivation, and the bottom line for businesses.