Fatigue and short-term unplanned absences among police officers

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess whether shift work, sleep loss and fatigue are related to short-term unplanned absences in policing.Design/methodology/approachN = 367 police officers from the Buffalo Police Department were studied. Day-by-day work and sick leave data were obtained from the payroll. Absenteeism was defined as taking a single sick day on a regularly scheduled workday. Biomathematical models of fatigue (BMMF) predicted officers' sleep–wake behaviors and on-duty fatigue and sleepiness. Prior sleep, fatigue and sleepiness were tested as predictors of absenteeism during the next shift.FindingsA total of 513,666 shifts and 4,868 cases of absenteeism were studied. The odds of absenteeism increased as on-duty fatigue and sleepiness increased and prior sleep decreased. This was particularly evident for swing shift officers and night shift officers who were predicted by BMMF to obtain less sleep and have greater fatigue and sleepiness than day shift officers. The odds of absenteeism were higher for female officers than male officers; this finding was not due to a differential response to sleep loss, fatigue or sleepiness.Practical implicationsAbsenteeism may represent a self-management strategy for fatigue or compensatory behavior to reduced sleep opportunity. Long and irregular work hours that reduce sleep opportunity may be administratively controllable culprits of absenteeism.Originality/valuePolice fatigue has consequences for police officers, departments and communities. BMMF provide a potential tool for predicting and mitigating police fatigue. BMMF were used to investigate the effects of sleep and fatigue on absenteeism.

Guiding principles for determining work shift duration and addressing the effects of work shift duration on performance, safety, and health: guidance from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society

“…5 Other demands on a person's time, including time needed for eating, personal hygiene, commuting, caregiver responsibilities, social activities, educational activities, secondary job, etc., may further constrain the time available for sleep and increase sleepiness and fatigue. 23,24,63,64 Furthermore, the effects of repeated exposure to sleep loss and/or sleep displacement across consecutive days are cumulative. 65,66 In the workplace, other factors, such as workload, 67 stress, 28,68 and inherent workplace hazards 69,70 interact with fatigue/sleepiness to determine the overall fatigue-related risk levels associated with shift duration 5 (see Figure 1).…”

“…Shift duration competes with other demands on people's timee.g., for commuting, eating, personal hygiene, nonwork-related commitments, and social activitiesand restricts the time available for sleep. 23,24,63 Fatigue/sleepiness associated with reduced and displaced sleep and with the timing of the biological clock (circadian rhythm), in conjunction with individual traits (e.g., vulnerability to sleep loss) and workplace characteristics and hazards determines overall risk levels. 124,144 Evaluation of these interconnected factors is pertinent to decision making about shift duration.…”

“…20 Other factors such as long A c c e p t e d P a p e r commute times, skipped rest breaks, insufficiently regulated overtime, multiple jobs, caregiver duties, and social commitments also contribute to mental fatigue. 5,[21][22][23][24] Mental fatigue is associated with considerable risks to employees, employers, and society at large. 5,9 Acute, short-term risks include reductions in performance, effectiveness, and productivity 5,25,26 ; increased errors and do-overs 26,27 ; absenteeism 24,28 ; "presenteeism," wherein the worker is on task but performing below capacity 26,28 ; ineffective teamwork 29 ; immoral or unethical behavior 30,31 ; reduced job satisfaction 32 ; degraded quality of life 33,34 ; decreased morale 29 ; reduced safety 35,36 ; workplace accidents and injuries 4,[37][38][39] ; motor vehicle crashes during the commute 40 ; and high-profile industrial catastrophes.…”

“…5,[21][22][23][24] Mental fatigue is associated with considerable risks to employees, employers, and society at large. 5,9 Acute, short-term risks include reductions in performance, effectiveness, and productivity 5,25,26 ; increased errors and do-overs 26,27 ; absenteeism 24,28 ; "presenteeism," wherein the worker is on task but performing below capacity 26,28 ; ineffective teamwork 29 ; immoral or unethical behavior 30,31 ; reduced job satisfaction 32 ; degraded quality of life 33,34 ; decreased morale 29 ; reduced safety 35,36 ; workplace accidents and injuries 4,[37][38][39] ; motor vehicle crashes during the commute 40 ; and high-profile industrial catastrophes. 41,42 In addition to degraded physical and mental health, 43 long-term risks include reduced individual and community well-being as well as economic losses.…”

The relationship between spirituality and mental health among police trainees

“…spirituality) may promote the mental health of police trainees, and the findings may inspire the development of novel mental health promotion programs for police officers. Spirituality may play a positive role in helping police officers rediscover the meaning and value in police work, prompt officers to strive for their professional goals and social responsibility, and hence enhance their tolerance to fatigue and distress in daily work (Koenig, 2009), which might contribute to PIJPSM 46,3 promoting police officers' work engagement and performance as well as preventing emotional exhaustion and job burnout (Riedy et al, 2020;Smith et al, 2022).…”