Night shift again? How to cope when you're not 9-5

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Four-day working weeks, flexi-time and a 24-hour shopping cycle.

The traditional 9-5 work day is a thing of the past as Kiwis juggle two or more jobs, change their hours to suit their commute or family needs and do shift work.

Shift work is becoming more common as businesses adjust to their customer demands, but it disruprts worker' body clocks and can lead to fatigue and illness if not managed property.

There are ways employers and workers can make it easier on themselves.

Workers
Night shifts: Stick to a sleep and wake schedule, even on days off. Make sure you family understands what you need and helps you get your sleep. Keep your bedroom cool and dark and turn your cellphone off.

Rotating shifts: Try to follow a rotating pattern and, if you can, move from morning shift to afternoon shift to night shift, rather than rotating anti-clockwise. And when your shift is changing, adjust your sleep/wake times slowly.

Employers
Managing rosters is one of the most complex task for managers and done well can maintain productivity and motivate workers. Here's how schedule a happy and productive workforce.

Understand how much staff you need at any given time to meet your business needs
Draw up schedules well in advance. This will help your staff manage their own lives around their work lives and let you adjust the schedule of someone needs a day off.

Communicate: Make sure the workers can see the upcoming rosters and know who to call if they cannot come in. Managers too need to know how to contact workers. Many small businesses operate closed Facebook pages or WhatsApp groups for their workers to discuss schedules and other issues.

Automate: Trying to manage various shifts and multiple schedules manually is a daunting task. Many software programmes are available to help manage rosters efficiently and accurately.