Should workers who nod off on night shift be fired? (employee, employer)
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I am asking this because i saw a recording of a NYC MTA conductor nodding off for maybe 5 minutes.
He may get terminated.
I am a night shifter,and i generally prepare myself to sleep during the day,but there are some nights that i could just be reading something at 4:05am and find myself nodding. I could sleep for 10 hours but someone the body still just shuts my eyes.
I only know that i fell asleep most times because i feel my head go down and catch it.
Other times,i actually see what is going on around me but can't move(strange but true).
It happens once or twice a week.
Nothing wrong with it,but should someone who nods for say 10 minutes be fired even though there is nothing else to do and nobody is in danger?
It is only natural we nod around 3am to 5am ,and i believe 100% of night shifters do not mean to fall asleep.
Of course it's up to the bosses but generally any kind of sleeping on the job will get you in trouble. I have worked night shift for nearly 20 years and I believe vast majority of people are not cut out for it. You have some people who can't get into the rhythm of shift work. Others have too many obligations and try to stay up all day as well as night.
When I worked a minimum wage night shift job you had people who worked during the day, practically around the clock in multiple jobs who never really slept.
I am asking this because i saw a recording of a NYC MTA conductor nodding off for maybe 5 minutes.
He may get terminated.
I am a night shifter,and i generally prepare myself to sleep during the day,but there are some nights that i could just be reading something at 4:05am and find myself nodding. I could sleep for 10 hours but someone the body still just shuts my eyes.
I only know that i fell asleep most times because i feel my head go down and catch it.
Other times,i actually see what is going on around me but can't move(strange but true).
It happens once or twice a week.
Nothing wrong with it,but should someone who nods for say 10 minutes be fired even though there is nothing else to do and nobody is in danger?
It is only natural we nod around 3am to 5am ,and i believe 100% of night shifters do not mean to fall asleep.
It depends on the type of work being done, but, from an ethical standpoint, I don't think people who nod off on nightshift should be fired as a general rule, unless they could potentially endanger someone by doing so. Maybe most who nod off on nightshift should be shaken awake and given a cup of coffee or energy drink but not fired. Shift work is hard and often those who do it are doing so because they have other obligations during the day. Maybe they go to class, watch the kids, or have a day job they go to, for instance. They don't usually just sleep all day like they are supposed to. It's exhausting work, too. I worked night shift at a diner once.
It depends on the type of work being done, but, from an ethical standpoint, I don't think people who nod off on nightshift should be fired as a general rule, unless they could potentially endanger someone by doing so. Maybe most who nod off on nightshift should be shaken awake and given a cup of coffee or energy drink but not fired. Shift work is hard and often those who do it are doing so because they have other obligations during the day. Maybe they go to class, watch the kids, or have a day job they go to, for instance. They don't usually just sleep all day like they are supposed to. It's exhausting work, too. I worked night shift at a diner once.
And you would anticipate the same babying from employers whose daytime employees fall asleep on the job? Whatever an employee opts to do with his time when not at his job is not the concern of the employer. It's totally irrelevant whether someone is falling asleep on a day shift or a night shift. An employer expects an employee to be alert and on the job, not snoozing.
Ideally, only those who can hack it would work night shift. They would be fully acclimated to daytime sleeping, and it could be handled just like any other employee.
When you get people who really don't want to work nights who are forced to work nights (happened to me for 6 months,) it can be rough. I'll just plain never be able to do it, and that was a 6pm-4am shift.
Yes right on the spot. No warnings nothing. You are paid to do a job not sleep.
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