Five ways to support workplace night owls when the clocks go back
It’s very important to develop a diverse workforce. In fact, research shows that there are many benefits to having night owls on your team. For example, it’s been found that night owls tend to perform better on cognitive tests, and they’re great at bringing creativity and impulsivity to the workplace.
However, being a night owl can also come with some health risks associated with lifestyle choices. When the clocks go back for daylight saving, many night owls may find adjusting to the new timings more difficult, and benefit from workplace support.
As night owls tend to feel more alert and productive in the later hours, they’re less likely to have structure to their sleep routine. This means that a set bedtime is also less likely, and sleep quality can be impacted. Night owls also prefer waking up later. When the clocks go back and mornings become darker, night owls may find their sleep schedule further disrupted. When you have a poor night’s sleep before work, it can make it harder to work at the best of your ability.
Night owl potential health pitfalls
Your sleep schedule relates to many elements of your wellbeing and lifestyle choices. Knowing the variances between night owls and early birds can help managers to get ahead and support their employees, depending on their chronotype and the potential health risks that can come along with them.
Higher risk of diabetes
Studies highlight that night owls have a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes, compared to early birds – by 72%. The same study found that night owls run a much higher risk of being overweight or having poor lifestyle choices. This means – without adequate support – your night owls may be at greater risk of developing long-term health conditions.
Increased physical inactivity
Research also shows that night owls are less likely to be physically active – another lifestyle choice that puts you at greater risk of developing health conditions, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke and sleep apnoea.
Statistically higher to develop mental health disorders
Employees who prefer late nights are more likely to develop disorders like depression and anxiety.
No time for morning self-care
Whether it’s a morning workout or preparing a nutritious breakfast, your night owls may only have time to cover the essentials before starting work, like getting a shower or catching public transport on time. This means that they may miss out on the morning self-care habits, like working out or eating well (or eating at all), that can help set you up for a productive, energised day at work.
If employees arrive at work hungry, they may find themselves reaching for convenience food – this can be full of sugar that provides an initial boost of energy, but leads to a quick slump.
Five ways managers can support night owls when the clocks go back
These tips apply year-round, but when the clocks change for daylight saving, it can serve as a useful reminder for any employees that could find it useful. Providing this support can encourage your employees to take good care of themselves, reduce the chance of long-term health conditions and encourage them to stay in work.
Rex Fan, Lead Behavioural Insights Specialist, Bupa UK, shares what managers need to know.
1) Make sure your workplace adjustments are up to scratch
It’s worthwhile checking on your workplace policies and procedures to ensure you’ve got the right things in place to support employees with long-term health conditions, like sickness absence or remote working policies. These policies help all employees to be treated fairly and consistently.
Keep up to date with any reasonable workplace adjustments you should be implementing, on the gov.uk website. Whilst it’s not always possible to put in all levels of support employees may require, it’s important to keep up to date with what’s available and what can help employees, while also hitting your business’s bottom line.
2) Adapt your workplace to encourage alertness
If you notice that any employees tend to struggle more in the morning, it may make sense to diarise meetings later in the day, when there’s a better chance of them feeling more alert.
The same goes for scheduling critical workplace tasks – work with your employee to figure out when they feel their most alert, and help them to work their routine around that.
3) Shout about your workplace benefits
Employees with long-term health conditions may see their stress and mental health suffer. Offering workplace support – including employee assistance programmes (EAP), confidential listening services, business health insurance and employee health assessments – can help ease employee worries and address issues sooner, which may help reduce potential long-term absences.
4) Don’t underestimate the power of communication
Making time for supportive and focussed conversations with your employees is the key to binding workplace policies, procedures and employee benefits and initiatives. Discover your employee’s challenges and seek additional advice from human resources and occupational health, where needed.
Developing good relationship with your employees can make it easier to spot when they may be struggling because of their health, and start a conversation with them to check, sooner.
5) Consider genome sequencing
Genomics analyses your genetic sequence to offer a deeper understanding of the health conditions and illnesses you’re at greater risk of developing, including hypertension, diabetes and cancer.
The more you know about your health risks, the more you can be proactive about protecting your health. Support your health, and the health of your team, by making sure you take your lunch break, and creating an environment where healthy habits are encouraged, from sharing healthy snacks and recipes, to arranging ‘walk and talk’ meetings.
