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Akerstedt And Torsvall (1985) Suggest That Napping Can Be Related To Shift ...


Akerstedt and Torsvall (1985) suggest that napping can be related to shift working and may have positively beneficial effects on workers' wellbeing. The napping behaviour was closely related to the length of the major sleep episode, which depended on the shift worked and on diurnal type (Akerstedt and Torsvall, 1985). It would appear that for most shift workers napping compensates for sleep loss caused by the temporal displacement of sleep and modified by diurnal type (Akerstedt and Torsvall, 1985). Purnell et al (2002) found in their study that taking a single 20-min nap during a first night shift significantly improved speed of response on a vigilance task measured at the end of the shift compared. But they also found that on the second night shift there was no effect of the nap on performance (Purnell et al, 2002). In this research taking a short nap during either night shift had no significant effect on subjective ratings of fatigue, the level of sleepiness reported while driving to and from work, or subsequent sleep duration and sleep quality, but overall Purnell et al (2002) suggest there is some merit in a short duration nap taken in the workplace to counteract performance deficits associated with the first night shift.
This might be a simple and positive behavioural intervention which could be encouraged in cabin staff and flight staff, and could be built into employment policies and even scheduling and rostering. This might be contrary to current company and organisational culture, however, which is another issue which may need to be addressed. In many organisational cultures, napping behaviour is forcibly discouraged, and so there may need to be more than the simple introduction of policies. Educational programmes, meetings and feedback sessions might also be useful to encourage and support these kinds of coping mechanisms. It would also be necessary for the company to carry out an internal audit of the practicalities of implementing supportive policies towards napping. How the individual differences associated with these kinds of behaviours can be addressed or accounted for might be a significant challenge.
An holistic approach, however, may be warranted in the case of Aer Arann, particularly in terms of flight attendants, a large proportion of whom are female (Williams, 2003). It is important to consider the effects of the working environment, and the variables within that environment, in order to consider how to maximise employee work outputs and wellbeing (Williams, 2003). Variables such as whether flight attendants feel valued by the company show that the airline management context is highly influential in the way in which the work environment, and the emotional labour associated with work within the airline industry, are experienced (Williams, 2003).


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