Welcome to A Healthy Shift

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Shift work can be brutal , but it doesn't have to be . Welcome to a healthy shift . My name is Roger Sutherland , certified nutritionist , veteran law enforcement officer and 24-7 shift worker for almost four decades . Through this podcast , I aim to educate shift workers , using evidence-based methods , to not only survive the rigours of shift work , but thrive . My goal is to empower shift workers to improve their health and wellbeing so they have more energy to do the things they love . Enjoy today's show and welcome back to A Healthy Shift . The podcast . That's all about helping you , the shift worker , to not just survive but to absolutely thrive .

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I'm your host , roger Sutherland , and today I want to speak directly to you about something that's been building for years and it's time that we finally call it out . It is 2025 , and we've reached the point where we just are slotting humans into 24-7 rosters and we're expecting them to cope . So many industries that were not 24-7 have slowly expanded into a 24-7 environment and all they're doing is just pushing humans into that time to fill spots , to make sure that there is a bum on a seat , giving absolutely no thought at all to the health and well-being . Now in business , we are managing assets , we log performance , we build rosters around operational needs . We monitor KPIs , but here's the thing we're still not educating shift workers on how to live well while working around the clock . It's mind-blowing when you really think about it , did you ? When you started shift work ? How much education did you actually get from your employer ? Were you handed a pamphlet ? Is there something that's put up on your health and wellbeing notice board every now and again ? Have you had lectures

The Problem with 24/7 Rosters

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? Do you remember them ? How often have you had them ? We are running multi-million dollar operations where the most critical asset in it , which is you , the shift worker , are being left to actually figure it out for themselves . And you're tired and you're getting sick and you are doing overtime because people are leaving . And you are doing overtime because people are leaving .

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And I'm here to say this that has to change and this is why my seminars are actually needed . These seminars are not bullshit , they're not a motivational speech . They're actually real . They're practical , science-backed education delivered by myself , who's lived and breathed shift work for over 40 years . In these seminars , I actually walk your team through circadian rhythms and why poor alignment is wrecking their health , and how you actually self-sabotage , actually self-sabotage . I talk about my five pillars of shift work health and how you can take steps in the right direction every single day , of every one of those five pillars . And , just like a building , when you actually get the pillars right , the building holds up properly and that's the same with you that when the shit hits the fan and it gets to a difficult stage , those pillars will stand you up .

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I talk about the truth , about fatigue , and one topic that I really get a lot of engagement in is the impact that shift work has on female health and their hormones . Now , I know that the guys will scoff and poo-poo this , but I can tell you females do shift work a lot harder than males do , and I'm targeting females to support females in the shift working environment , to try and optimize it for them .

Five Pillars of Shift Work Health

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I come up with and I have got simple , doable movement strategies . This is not about kitting up and going to the gym and lifting heavy weights and squatting and bench pressing and deadlifting . This is about finding simple and doable things that you can actually do . But here's the kicker for you . This is not just for night shift workers . Your day staff , your day walkers , your leaders , your work health safety managers they'll all benefit from this as well , because shift work impacts the whole system .

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And what are my seminars actually achieving ? Because when workplaces bring me in , this is what they're actually seeing A reduction in unplanned leave , better staff retention , fewer fatigue-related accidents , improved morale and engagement , and they get stronger productivity . But the best of all and this is the thing your people feel seen , they feel understood and they finally get the why and the how of managing shift work for themselves as well . Because when they and your staff and you are actually optimizing your shift working life , you have more energy to do the things that you actually want to do outside of work . How many of you just don't have time to do anything and that you actually want to do outside of work ? How many of you just don't have time to do anything ? And you're getting more and more and more isolated and it's impacting on your mental health because you're so tired , you're doing overtime , it's causing problems .

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We have to stem the hemorrhaging of staff somehow , and I'm here for it . So how do you get me to your workplace ? So , if you're sitting there and you're thinking , my team , we need this , here's how it works you get me into your workplace for a paid seminar . You get me to come to you to educate your team and if you're the one that made it happen , here's my undertaking to you If you download my e-book

Benefits of Workplace Seminars

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and you actually put the report in and send it up the line and it ends up happening , I will personally coach you for eight weeks free of charge . That's right One-on-one personalized support from me just for stepping up and being the leader and the change maker in your workplace . This will not only help your team , but it will also help you . It's a total and utter win-win for everyone . Now I've been doing these seminars for Queensland Police . I've also been doing the seminars for Queensland Youth Justice and I've done it for the fourth largest pharmaceutical company in the world , and they are benefiting enormously .

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I revisited there again last week to go down and speak to more of their team around shift work and I was called back after just eight months to educate the next lot of people . This company is on the front foot and they are going to become world leaders in shift work education . And what do you think the onflow of that is going to be for their KPIs ? Their unplanned leave , the health of their staff , the turnover of their staff , the accidents All of that is going to improve because they're getting on the front foot and they are investing in their staff to do it , and this is what needs to happen .

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So if you're ready to do more than literally just fill a roster and just be a number and just sit there in the mess room or the tea room and complain with all of your colleagues , then you deserve what you get . But if you want to actually support your shift working team with real education that changes lives , let's talk . So the best thing that you can do is go to ahealthyshiftcom and at the top of that is a link seminars , or you can go to the link in the show notes . Message me directly on LinkedIn or on Instagram at a underscore healthy , underscore shift , and I will send you the free seminar info pack , which is my seminar brochure that you can attach

How to Bring Seminars to You

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to your application and send it up the line .

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Let's stop treating shift workers like robots , because they're not . Let's give them the tools that they need to stay well , to stay sharp and , more importantly , to just stay in the job , because shift work doesn't have to destroy your health , not when you know what to do . So thanks for listening and , as always , here's to a healthy shift . Make it happen . I'm excited . I really want to come to your workplace and educate your team . I'll see you there . Thank you for listening . If you enjoyed this episode , be sure to subscribe so you get notified whenever a new episode is released . It would also be ever so helpful if you could leave a rating and review on the app you're currently listening on . If you want to know more about me or work with me , you can go to ahealthyshiftcom . I'll catch you on the next one .