stress and the 24-hour society
by Lynn Eaton
Remember when Sunday was a day of rest? When you had to dash down to the shops at twenty past five because they were about to shut and you were running out of milk? Or when you would sit down to watch the television news, rather than constantly surfing the net for the latest news development?
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It all seems a distant memory now. We can shop, surf or e-mail till we drop, morning, noon or night. But has the 24-hour society – dubbed the 24/7 lifestyle – really improved our quality of life? Or are we just chasing our tails even more than we ever were?
Stress is clearly a feature of the 24/7 experience, according to a survey carried out to coincide with National Stress Awareness Day in 2001. The survey, looking at how we manage stress in a 24-hour society, revealed:
- 53% of people have suffered from work-related stress in the past 12 months
- 57% of those who have experienced stress says it has worsened in the past year
- 52% of those under stress feel it is damaging their health
- 72% of those who are stressed blame too much work
- 63% of those who report stress expect the problem to stay unchanged or get worse
- 20% have sought medical or other professional help.
boon or bane?
So how does this round-the-clock lifestyle really measure up?
'It has its pros and cons,' says Carole Spiers, who chairs the International Stress Management Association (ISMA), the organisation running National Stress Awareness Day. 'One advantage is there isn't the pressure to have to buy something when the shops are closing at a definite time,' she says. 'And it makes life easier if you can get to the bank 24 hours a day.
'Another positive is that it can offer the opportunity for people to choose the times they want to work.'
work around the clock
One area where choice over working hours is now being pushed as a major benefit is in health care. The NHS has been trying to encourage nurses, many of them mothers with a family to look after, to return to work by offering flexible work arrangements.
Some nursing staff, according to the Royal College of Nursing, prefer to do three 12-hour shifts on consecutive days and nights, rather than work 36 hours over a five day period.
'You do fewer days, so you get more days off,' says one nurse, who works at Addenbrookes NHS Trust in Cambridge.
But others have found working so intensely leaves them exhausted. An RCN spokesperson at a London hospital says nurses initially opted for the 12-hour shifts thinking it would give them more free time for a social life. 'In fact, they found that wasn't so. They found on the extra days off they were so tired they didn't feel like going out.'
balancing busy lives
Not everyone likes the idea of everything being open 24 hours a day, as Ms Spiers acknowledges. 'Some people don't want their lifestyles changed. And it is very easy to lose the balance in your life. It is easy to move away from making time for yourself. Instead of making some relaxation time, you spend it shopping.'
An Industrial Society survey in 2001, Managing Best Practice No 83: Occupational Stress, showed that juggling home and work demands was a major source of stress for 70% of respondents, while half cited unrealistic deadlines and constant time pressures as an additional factor.
Shopping is perhaps the most visible sign of the 24-hour society. You can find a Christmas present, buy a book or do your complete week's supermarket shop, without ever leaving home or even – with a laptop – from the comfort of your own bed. You can also pick up the phone or go on-line to check your bank balance or pay your bills to check your bank balance through a call centre.
health effects
Even healthcare – where once we had to fit around the times the service was available – has had to move with the times. Now if you feel ill during the night, you can ring NHS Direct and speak to an experienced nurse for immediate advice, rather than queue for hours in a busy accident and emergency department or wait until the morning to see your doctor. The same service is also available on the NHS Direct website, although obviously telephone or online advice can never completely replace a face-to-face appointment with your doctor when necessary.
But as well as serving some of your healthcare needs around the clock, 24-hour living can also harm your health.
kill or cure?
Working outside standard office hours can lead to sleep disruption, gastro-intestinal disorders and even an increased risk of heart disease, according to scientists from the Centre for Chronobiology, at the University of Surrey, writing in The Lancet in September 2001.
Night working can also harm your relationships. In the US, marital breakdown and divorce rates increase by up to six times when one partner works at night, according to research in a report, The 24-hour Society and Industrial Relations Strategies, presented to the European Industrial Relations Association in June 2001. One in five workers in the European Union now works between 10pm and 5am for at least two hours a month, according to the report, while half of those employed in the EU work on a Saturday and one in four on Sunday.
my 24/7 life
Certainly some workers are worried about the impact the 24-hour society is having on their lives.
Gillian Jellis, a single parent from Aylesbury, worked until recently as deputy manager of a Kwiksave store in Oxford. She handed in her notice when the company decided to lengthen the opening hours.
'I was getting up at ten past five in the morning and driving to Oxford, to get there at half past six. Most days I was there until 8pm because we were short staffed, so by the time I got home it was 9.30. I wasn't getting to see my family at all.'
She became so stressed, she took six weeks off sick, which coincided with the school holidays. 'My girls said it was the first time I had ever spent the summer holidays with them. They thought it was brilliant having me here.
'I appreciate that people don't always have time to shop during the day, but most people must have at least one day off a week. Why don't they do it then?' she asks.
night terrors
Val Churchill, a shop steward with the Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers at a Tesco's supermarket in Oxford, fought hard against 24-hour opening because she felt staff were especially vulnerable to violence at night.
'There are dangers to working at that time of night, although the company says that staff will be protected by security staff. As far as I am concerned, it seems to be profit before people all the time,' she says.
Hugh Robertson, head of health and safety at Unison, which represents many staff working all hours in call centres, says shift working is nothing new.
'A lot of members like it, when it is organised properly,' he says. 'Clearly it gives some people greater flexibility. But the hours you work have to be flexible to suit individuals, not the other way around.'
make the 24-hour society work for you
The key to making the 24/7 society work to our advantage, according to the experts, is getting the balance right – and not letting new technology or 24-hour shopping rule your life.
You can use new technology to your advantage. For example:
- Put the answerphone on so you don't have to take calls during your favourite TV programme
- Use the video to watch programmes at a time that suits you – and set aside time to view them on Sunday instead of going shopping
- Let your mobile phone go on to its answer service – especially when you are driving or if it rings while you are already talking to someone else.
If you feel you are turning into a compulsive shopper, try these tips:
- Take only cash – not credit cards
- Rather than buy on impulse, ask the shop assistants if they will put an item by for you for a couple of hours while you decide whether you really need it.
Psychologist John Mueller, from the University of Calgary, Canada, says the answer to our 24-hour society is to stop trying to multi-task.
'Humans are not good at it,' he says. 'Don't eat lunch at your desk, don't skip a break to answer e-mail.'
With an estimated 360,000 e-mails sent every second in Britain alone, it is all too easy to become an internet junkie, checking your e-mails every hour. Break that habit by telling regular contacts specific times you will check mail, say at 10am, 1pm and 6pm.
The only real challenge then is making sure you stick to it.
help and info
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third party sites.
You can find out more about your rights at work in our stress and the law feature. If call centre working is causing you stress check out our report call centres under pressure.
Make the 24-hour society work for you. Here are some useful services which offer round-the-clock help or advice.
organisations
FRANK
Helpline: 0800 77 66 00 (Every day 24 hours)
Textphone: 0800 917 8765
E-mail: frank@talktofrank.com
Website: www.talktofrank.com
Provides free confidential drugs information and advice 24 hours a day. All calls are confidential. Use the website's search facility to get the contact details of organisations offering practical help and support in your area.
NHS Direct
Helpline: 0845 46 47 (24 hours)
Website: www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
The 24-hour NHS service provides expert health advice from trained nurses. An extensive database of medical information is available on their website. They can also advise you if you wish to make a complaint about the NHS.
NSPCC
Freephone helpline: 0808 800 5000 (24 hours)
Asian Child Protection Helpline: 0800 096 7719 (Mon-Fri 11am-7pm) (English speaking
line – Asian languages are also available)
Textphone for the deaf and hard of hearing: 0800 056 0566
E-mail: help@nspcc.org.uk
Website: www.nspcc.org.uk
The NSPCC Child Protection helpline is there for anyone concerned about a child at risk
of abuse, including children themselves. The helpline is also available for people who
are concerned about their own behaviour towards children.
Parentline Plus
Helpline: 0808 800 2222 (24 hours a day, every day)
Textphone: 0800 783 6783
E-mail: contact@parentlineplus.org.uk
Website: www.parentlineplus.org.uk
Offers support to anyone parenting a child; the child's parents, stepparents, grandparents and foster parents. Runs free telephone and email helplines, parenting courses and offers information leaflets.
Samaritans
c/o Chris
PO Box 90 90
Stirling FK8 2SA
Helpline: 08457 90 90 90 (24 hours)
E-mail: jo@samaritans.org
Website: www.samaritans.org.uk
The Samaritans exists to provide confidential emotional support to any person, irrespective of race, creed, age or status who is in emotional distress or at risk of suicide; 24 hours a day. Can be contacted by e-mail, telephone, writing, or by visiting one of over 200 local branches (details are on the website).
Shelter
Shelterline: 0808 800 4444 (24 hours)
E-mail: info@shelter.org.uk
Website: www.shelternet.org.uk
A national organisation working to improve the lives of homeless and badly housed people. Shelter offers free, professional and independent advice to anyone with a housing problem. Shelterline advisors will discuss your rights, explain your options and help you take action. The Shelternet website provides information and advice on housing issues such as renting, rights and homelessness.
Women's Aid
PO Box 391
Bristol BS99 7WS
Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247 (24 hours)
E-mail: helpline@womensaid.org.uk
Website: www.womensaid.org.uk
The National Domestic Violence Helpline provides confidential support, help and information to anyone experiencing (or who has experienced)
physical, emotional or sexual violence in the home. Helpline staff can explain support options available to you and, where necessary, refer
you to a refuge, a local Women's Aid group or other sources of help and information. You do not need to be in an emergency situation to contact Women's Aid.
Boots
Represented on most high streets nationwide.
Online pharmacy and shop: www.boots.com
Online chemist which offers a prescription dispensing service online. Boots is also represented on most high streets nationwide.
The Zafash Pharmacy
233-235 Old Brompton Rd
London SW5 0EA
Tel: 0207-373 3506
24-hour, year-round, London-based pharmacy.
websites
Employers for Work-life Balance
www.employersforwork-lifebalance.org.uk
Offers a one-stop shop for employers, with information on work-life issues.
International Stress Management Association UK
www.isma.org.uk
You can find a stress management counsellor in an area near you, check out advice about stress or discover booklists and resources both for the public and stress professionals.
Trades Union Congress (TUC)
www.tuc.org.uk
Provides information on workers' rights, employment law and stress.
UK College of Life Coaching
www.ukclc.net/balance
This 'Work-Life Balance' coaching programme, run by accredited life coaches, is aimed at improving the quality of personal and professional lives.
Work-Life Balance
www.dfee.gov.uk/work-lifebalance
Contains details of policies, research and case studies to benefit anyone who wants to create a better balance between work and the rest of life.
reading
Managing Best Practice no 83, Occupational Stress, £65 plus £4.75 p&p |
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The 24-hour Society and Industrial Relations Strategies |
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The 24 Hour Society by Leon Kreitzman (Profile Books, 1999) |
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The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Getting a Good Night's Sleep by Martin Moore-Ede and Suzanne LeVert (Alpha Books, August 1999) |
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(updated November 2002, resources updated May 2005)
