85% of company doctors have treated people with health problems caused by night shifts

Of company doctors who work at businesses with night shifts, 85 percent have treated people with complaints caused by working at night, Pointer reports. It surveyed 213 company doctors who work with night shift workers, and they reported employees struggling with things like trouble sleeping and fatigue.

In the Netherlands, 1.3 million people sometimes or regularly work at night, especially in healthcare, transport, storage, catering, and industry sectors. In 2017, the Dutch Health Council advised the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment to “limit night work where possible” after a scientific study showed night shift workers have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, sleeping problems, and type 2 diabetes.

But according to company doctors, very little has changed since then. Currently, 14 percent of workers sometimes or regularly work the night shift, about the same as in 2017. Only 1 in 5 company doctors think that companies do enough to prevent health problems caused by night work.

Two-thirds of company doctors have spoken about night shift-related health problems with employers, but that only occasionally led to improvements. In most cases, companies were willing to adjust the work schedule of the individual employee. In some cases, it resulted in the employee being declared “unfit for work.”

How many people suffer from sleep problems due to working nights is unknown. Company doctors’ estimates vary from 25 to 75 percent. Forty percent of doctors said that sleeping problems regularly or often play a role in absenteeism among night workers. “What makes it difficult is that people generally don’t come to the company doctor with sleeping problems alone,” Boyd Thijssens of the professional association for company doctors NVAB told the program.

“We must try to prevent night work more,” Thijssens said. “Of course, there are sectors where it is unavoidable, like healthcare or the police. But I think it is taken for granted that this applies to all night work.” He listed distribution centers for overnight delivery as examples of unnecessary night work.

Pointer asked Minister Karien van Gennip of Social Affairs about the Health Council’s advice to decrease night work. Her spokesperson said that she is concerned about the health of night workers, but she believes it is not a political responsibility to prevent unnecessary night work. “The responsibility and consideration for deploying employees at night and taking proper measures if night work is necessary lies with employers,” said her spokesperson.