DOZING ON THE JOB ACROSS TIME ZONES OR ON LONG SHIFTS CAN BE DEADLY

In this globalised, networked, hypermobile, 24x7 world we live in, many people work across time zones, or in “Clopening” shifts and worse in 32 hour shifts with 16 hour breaks, as this author and colleagues did for 3 years as a trainee at CMC Hospital, Vellore and again for 3 years as a junior surgeon at AIIMS, New Delhi.

- DR P.S.VENKATESH RAO

“Clopening” shift is a closing shift; eg, 5:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m, followed 5 hours later by an opening shift, 4:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in cafes, hotels, shops, gas stations, etc. In emergencies, wars, and natural or manmade disasters, many remain on duty continuously or are forced to stay active to survive or help others survive. Appointed provisional in-charge and coordinator of emergency services at AI-IMS, New Delhi, during the 1984 riots after PM Indira Gandhi's assassination, this author was stuck on duty 3 days and nights in a row, eating and nodding off whenever possible, in the emergency department amid hundreds of victims. In Japan, the practice of napping at work is called inemuri ("present while sleeping"), considered a sign of dedication to the job, having worked to the point of complete exhaustion, and may be excusable. Understaffing, cost-cutting, and excessive workloads in critical occupations can have deadly consequences for personal safety and the safety of others. A sleep deprived and exhausted driver, pilot, air traffic controller, crane, earthmover and heavy machinery operator, explosives or inflammable materials handler, sentry at prisons, defence, nuclear or other high risk facilities, emergency duty, disaster management and rescue operations person, can lead to deaths due to inability to concentrate, or dozing on the job.