What can I do as an employer?

Keeping your staff alert and healthy should be any employer’s key goal.

Good sleep keeps our bodies running smoothly, helping us take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. In fact, getting great sleep improves your alertness, enhances your mental functioning, boosts your mood, and keeps immune system running at top capacity. This can ultimately result in less time lost to sick leave. You can work with your staff – particularly shift workers – to ensure that they achieve optimal alertness and health in the workplace through better managing their sleep.

We have outlined some key areas where employers can help their employees by reviewing and scheduling work hours work hours in a fatigue-friendly way, by reviewing and changing workplace lighting; or by implementing a sleep education and sleep disorders screening program.

You can also encourage your staff to take regular breaks, providing access to daylight if working indoors, and incorporating as much flexi-time as possible to allow employees to manage their sleep and work together.