Speaker 1: 1:42

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.

Speaker 1: 2:14

Enjoy today's show and welcome back to a Healthy Shift podcast. I am your host, roger Sutherland. Please welcome aboard, and I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time to listen to this podcast Today. I want to talk directly to the leaders. I want to speak to managers and health and wellbeing professionals who are running 24-7 workplaces, and I'm going to say this plainly the cost of doing nothing to support your staff is a lot higher than what you actually think, because every time you put your heads in the sand, hoping that your staff will just make it work, it's going to come back and bite you. But I'm also talking to you, the shift worker, because if you don't do something today, then you are going to get to the stage where you are going to get burnt out.

Speaker 1: 3:06

Now I've had numerous conversations with people through my DMs on social media and via email telling me that staff problems and shortage and lack of education and they're burnt out. And then I asked them one question what are you doing about it? And they go oh, there's nothing that you can do. They haven't even tried. And what people have got to remember is there is money allocated in budgets for health and wellbeing, in a lot of budgets, and there's money there and there's funding and grants. And I've been having a conversation with an organisation over the last week which has just highly impressed me with what they're actually doing and how they're going about it. And it's an organisation that you wouldn't think and they're an organisation that are actually on their knees at the moment, really struggling, and it's in the health area and it's something that's really, really important that we have these conversations and start working out and think tanking ways that we can go about really helping this. And through the conversation that I had during the week, an idea was hatched which is next level, amazing that I hadn't even considered as a model in my business, but now I'm going to primarily focus on in a very, very big way because of the impact that it can actually have for you, the shift worker, and also for you, the leader, the manager, or health and wellbeing professionals. So listen up, because I really want to discuss this and I really need you to pay attention to what I'm going to tell you.

Speaker 1: 4:43

So, first of all, what's the problem? What's the cost of doing nothing? Because in 24-7 workplaces, when shift workers don't get any education and support that they need, three things will definitely follow. And you are seeing this in your workplace today and don't tell me that you are not, particularly if you are a first responder or you're managing first responders, and particularly if you work in frontline health. Don't tell me that you don't see this.

Speaker 1: 5:13

Number one unplanned leave goes up. People are burnt out and they're getting sick and they're just not turning up or they can't come in. They've had enough. Staff turnover rises. Good people are leaving because they just can't keep pushing through unhealthy rosters and environments and workplace accidents are occurring because of fatigue and complaints increasing as well because of fatigue. Poor health and disengagement actually catches up with you. So there you go Unplanned leave, staff turnover, workplace accidents. We've just got an all-round unhealthy workplace that's causing problems. And here's a kicker for you too. When someone leaves or goes on leave, that doesn't mean that that problem disappears. All it does is the problem falls onto the people who are still there, and those people get pushed even harder, and you know what happens then. They, too then burn out, and how much longer does it go? It's a vicious cycle.

Speaker 1: 6:18

Now, for years, I've been listening to leaders saying, oh, it's always been this way, this is what we do. We just make it work. But let's be honest, it just isn't working for you anymore, is it? And it's getting worse and worse and you're getting more and more desperate. We can't keep squeezing people harder into 24-7 rosters without giving them the tools on how to go about surviving it.

Speaker 1: 6:48

We must educate, we must educate, educate, educate. You can't pass out a flyer or send an email at every now and again with the best snacks to have on night shift. You can't do that. You've got to educate people on how to go about it. We've got to provide education around work-life balance, how to get them to feel better about themselves, because without that, you're going to lose them and you're going to have massive problems, and you, the shift worker that are listening to this as well, you're going to end up carrying the load for the people that end up breaking and going or the people that can't handle it. You're going to be the one that's going to carry the load, but what are you doing about it? And this is why, during the week, we have created a brand new innovation for workplaces, and I'm super excited to talk about this, because this is really, really important, and that is championing staff from within, having shift work champions in your workplace.

Speaker 1: 7:52

Now, here's what I mean Instead of trying to get me to run health and wellbeing seminars and coming in on one day and trying to educate your whole workforce in one hit While this is incredibly important and gives people the opportunity to ask questions and get solutions, and also for managers and staff and non-24-hour staff to all hear simple strategies and theories about how to go about it and help women in shift work and help you master your own roster and breathwork self-regulation strategies. We do all of this and it's highly successful and so incredibly well-reviewed as well. So how are you going to educate your workforce? Because I know I know for a fact you just don't have the time because you're carrying the burden as well. You don't have the energy and you absolutely do not have the space to do it, but I do and I can coach a handful of your staff one-to-one over a period of 12 weeks and these staff members that you nominate, that are motivated and keen, become your shift work champions in a workplace.

Speaker 1: 9:04

They will live and breathe the same rosters, the same pressures, they're working in the same challenges as their peers, but now they're equipped with the knowledge and the strategies to show the way and they can lead by example. They're there, live, to actually help your staff. You don't have to worry about it, doing your thing, all you've done is put the initiative in place, because that's your role, that's your job. Find a solution. I'm your solution. I can coach them for you outside of your work so that they then become your shift work champions in the workplace and everybody learns from their colleagues. And here's how it works, because when I coach your staff one-to-one for 12 weeks, they're not just getting my guidance personal guidance, one-to-one but I'm going to give them also access and create a private community for just that group of staff and inside that community they have the opportunity to join a weekly live Q&A session that I will personally run it and I'll run it live and I'll share practical strategies and answer their real world questions. You raise a question, I'll answer it, give you a solution. They can take it back to the workplace. I'll also run monthly webinars on the latest and most relevant topics in shift work.

Speaker 1: 10:26

You can't keep up with that. That's not your job. Your job is to manage and lead. My job is to educate your staff. This way, they can then take things straight back to their peers at work and then they don't just learn at once and walk out of the room and not do anything about it. They're continually updated with resources, they get new ideas and they're getting evidence-based solutions that they can share with your team. And the ripple effect of this is enormous because it doesn't matter where you are in the world. I can coach you exactly the same way as I coach my clients one-to-one now.

Speaker 1: 11:04

So instead of one manager trying to carry the weight of staff health and wellbeing on top of everything else, you will then have educated champions embedded in your workplace and they will then support their peers and they keep the conversations going. And then what they do is they then begin to normalise healthy shift working practices. And what's the impact of that? Fewer, unplanned leave days, reduced turnover, safer and healthier workplaces and a culture where people feel supported and understood. Now, this is not just theory. It's coming from lived experience, because I've done 40 years in frontline policing. I've worked the shifts, I've worked around the clock and I know exactly what it takes to survive and thrive in these environments. And I can combine this with the up-to-date evidence and science of what it tells us is the best possible way for us to go about doing this, so I can be the champion of champions and actually educate them in your workplace. Have a think about that. That's exciting.

Speaker 1: 12:11

So the real question isn't can you afford to invest in your staff? That's not even the question. The question is can I afford not to? Because if you think things look tough right now, how do you think it's going to look in 12 months or in two years, or even in five years? Do you honestly think it's going to get better without doing anything at the moment? Because you're losing stuff and every time someone falls off the perch, it puts more pressure on the people that are left. Now we can't keep doing nothing, because the cost of doing nothing is already showing up in your budgets. It's showing up in your safety reports and your bottom line. It is really hurting you. So what's the cost?

Speaker 1: 12:55

Now, if you want to explore how the shift work champions model could work in your place, then go into the show notes and you'll see a link there that says the seminar experience. Go and click on that and, once you get that, go to that landing page, that webpage. You can have a look through the information there and you can either book a call with me where we can have a discussion around this and how this could work for you in your workplace, or you can download my seminar experience e-brochure and have me come and visit your workplace live and interact with your staff. Live with a structured core keynote teaching your staff how to thrive in shift work. I'm happy to show you the feedback. The feedback is incredible from this and it's really really humbling for me and it shows me that I'm on the money. I'm on the right mark here with what I'm actually doing, and shiftwork Champions is just next level brainwave. It's just something that is truly special and I'm really, really excited to bring this into the business to support you as a leader, a manager or a health and wellbeing manager, because it's really, really important Now, your people are your most valuable asset, so let's give them the education and the support that they need to thrive, because when they thrive, your organization does too, and that's really, really important. And if you're a staff member, a 24-7 shift worker and I'm quite sure that you will be, if you're listening to this podcast, because that's what it's all about Do yourself a favor.

Speaker 1: 14:38

Don't complain about it. Don't walk into the manager's office and say hey, have you heard about Roger Sutherland and a healthy shift? Yeah, it's great. You need to get around it, because they won't. What you need to do is you need to go into the show notes here. Go to the landing page, download the e-brochure, put it in front of them.

Speaker 1: 14:56

I've actually had someone tell me that when they went to their manager and spoke to their manager about it, they went oh, I don't know about this. Then they put the brochure in front of them and the brochure. They went oh, my God, we need this. This is what we need. This is exactly what we need. We is exactly what we need. We have structured this to support you. This is important and that's what I want you to do.

Speaker 1: 15:17

So go to the landing page, go into the show notes and where it says the seminar experience. Click on that link and down the bottom of that page you'll see you've got two options. You can book a call and we'll have a chat if you're a leader, or you can download the e-brochure, attach a report to it, send it up the line, force them to make a decision and if you don't hear back from them in a week, send another email and ask them what are you doing about it? Because they are in control and in charge of your health and wellbeing. They are paid to look after your health and wellbeing. Managers are paid to look after your health and wellbeing. Let's make that perfectly clear. What are they doing to look after your health and wellbeing? Keep that in mind.

Speaker 1: 16:00

Thanks, heaps, for joining me on today's episode of a Healthy Shift podcast.

Speaker 1: 16:04

I really do hope that this has given you something to think about as a leader in a 24-7 environment, because it is ridiculously important that we actually start educating the shift workers in the workplace to get them to thrive and not just survive, because when you give your staff a good work-life balance and more energy to do the things they love outside of their shift working world, they bring so much more to it. I'll catch you in the next episode to it. I'll catch you in the next episode. 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 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.