American media and corporate culture have long promoted the image of a hardworking employee; staying late at the office, showing dedication by losing sleep. But in real life, is such an “around-the-clock” work ethic really productive? Studies show the answer is a resounding no.

The Cost of Sleep Deprivation

According to a survey by Harvard Medical School, insomnia-related mistakes cost American employers $31.1 billion in 2012 (Source: JAMA). This represented about 7.2 percent of all “costly workplace accidents and errors.” Clearly, putting in more hours is not going to make up for the costly mistakes that sleep deprivation can cause.

Healthcare’s Biggest Mistake

The healthcare industry is one of the most notorious for overworked and under-rested employees. Many hospitals are understaffed and need nurses and doctors available 24 hours a day. But longer shifts and routine night shifts can have a terrible impact on the employees, the patients and the organization as a whole.

Studies have shown that longer shifts cause problems, not just with the health of the nurses, but also with patient satisfaction (source: PMC). Patients from hospitals with 13-hour shifts were far less satisfied than those whose nurses worked shorter shifts. And, when compared with 8-hour shifts, the risk of error among nurses who worked 12-hour shifts increased by 28 percent. Longer shifts lead to less well-rested employees, which can lead to disaster.

Employee Burnout

Workplace burnout is a complicated issue and can be caused by many things. But one type of burnout in particular, known as Frenetic Burnout, is related to long work hours (source: BMC Psychiatry). And of course, the connection between burnout and employee turnover is well known. So it is important to remember that encouraging employees to have a proper view of rest can save your company from losing good workers.

Is a Staffing Shortage Causing Your Employees to Lose Sleep?

Consider hiring temporary workers to help fill the need. Contact Staffing Resources to learn more about our temp services in Atlanta.