Table 4.

SCRD-induced employee issue and potential employer responses. On the basis of existing information, employers should establish ‘best practice’ approaches to mitigate some of the inevitable consequences of SRCD in the workplace (table 2). However, it must be emphasized that as a society we have to acknowledge that shift work and patterns of employment that disrupt sleep are detrimental to health, and that currently there is no way of eliminating completely the health problems listed in table 2.

SCRD-induced employee issue	employer response
after extended periods of work or night shifts, loss of vigilance and micro-sleeps at work and/or the drive home	provide vigilance devices in the workplace and for the drive home which alert an individual that they are falling asleep, provide transport (e.g. Taxis) following the night shift for the commute home
loss of vigilance and tiredness in the workplace	provide sufficiently bright light to increase alertness
poor physical and mental health	higher frequency health-checks to detect problems early and institute interventions to prevent chronic conditions
obesity, diabetes II, metabolic abnormalities	appropriate food/nutrition; reduce the high-fat, high-sugar diet available and replace with small protein-rich and easy to digest snacks
failure to appreciate the consequences of shortened sleep and night shift work by the employee and family	develop educational materials for the employee and family explaining the impact and consequences of sleep loss
anxiety over sleep apps, screen and computer use, and confused recommendations regarding sleep education	develop educational materials and advice regarding best sleep practice
varied ability to cope with morning versus evening versus night shift schedules	chronotype individuals in an attempt to accommodate preferred sleep/wake patterns for the allocation of timed patterns of work