Speaker 1: 1:41

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.

Speaker 1: 2:30

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? 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.

Speaker 1: 4:23

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.

Speaker 1: 5:22

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. 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.

Speaker 1: 6:30

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.

Speaker 1: 7:32

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 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.

Speaker 1: 8:50

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.

Speaker 1: 9:43

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 to your application and send it up the line.

Speaker 1: 10:31

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.