Consider the following:
My work involves intermittently working with a chemical. I'm exposed a few times per month. The chemical is a carcinogen, with around 46% increased risk of certain cancers (1). Effects of exposure also result in depression and irritability in about half of people, with as of yet poorly measured impact on social functioning and relationships (2). The mechanism for the depression is not fully understood, but likely involves biological process disruption or possibly direct neuronal injury. Short term effects of exposure result in cognitive impairment with fatal motor vehicle accidents as result (3). Pregnant woman exposed to this chemical has around a 32% increased risk for miscarriage (4). Medium to long term exposure result in significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and generally leads to shorter life expectancy.
We currently have no alternative to this chemical in certain important industries. There are however multiple industries who should not be working with it, but only do so because it increases profit and is relatively cheap.
I currently have no protective equipment when working with this chemical. I have not been warned or made aware of these risks before starting work with this chemical. My employer doesn't have any risk mitigation, harm reduction, or accelerated health surveillance in place. In fact, my duration and intensity of exposure to this chemical is not even tracked. When attempting to address any of the risks, my employer simply shrugs their shoulders and says “it is part of the job”. There has been very little attempt across industries to reduce the effects of exposure.
In my opinion, the apathy from the employers are because:
1. There have only been sporadic small litigation cases, resulting in relatively minor compensation damages, with no class action suit yet motivating any real change.
2. The managers and admin personnel are never exposed to this chemical.
The chemical in question of course, is night shift work. The medical literature has now passed the Rubicon, showing definitively the risks and harms of night shift work. It is in the interest of the bourgeoise the maintain the status quo, and there will likely be ongoing attempts to discredit and controversy the evidence. The societal inertia to real change will be massive – but as covid has shown us, massive inertia can be overcome.
It is my hope that real change is coming for essential night shift workers, with scheduled sleep on shift / more time off / increased pay / for those occupations where night shift work is absolutely necessary such as healthcare. Night shift work for capitalism to simply increase profit should become prohibitively expensive to employers. This will not happen before some real financial sting and consequence to employers. It is an unfortunate reality in our capitalist driven world. As such, I encourage all shift workers:
– Reconsider doing nights at all, and be happy and healthy. Nothing motivates change like the inability to find staff.
– Maintain and log your duration and intensity of shift work exposure, and request that your employer also logs/signs/verifies this.
– Make sure your doctor notes in your chart that you work night shift, with possibly accelerated health screening and to note it as a risk modifier for certain disease.
– Make sure you mention night shift work for any mood related disorders, and if the disorder arose before or after you started working nights.
– Talk to your lawyer friends. A class action suit should be coming at some stage.
Night shift work is very expensive, but the true cost of it has been paid by the workers themselves.
1Lancet Oncol 2019 Aug;20(8):1058-1059. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30455-3. Epub 2019 Jul 4..10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30455-3
2.J Korean Med Sci. 2017 Jul; 32(7): 1091–1096.
Published online 2017 Apr 28. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2017.32.7.1091
3.Extended Work Shifts and the Risk of Motor Vehicle Crashes among Interns January 13, 2005 N Engl J Med 2005; 352:125-134 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa041401
- Occup Environ Med 2019 May;76(5):302-308. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2018-105592. Epub 2019 Mar 25.