Articles · notes from the night shift
Writing on fatigue, change and the design of work.
Short, practical pieces for operations leaders. What the research says, what we see on site, and what to do about it on Monday.
Your rota is compliant. That's not the same as safe.
Working time rules set a floor, not a design standard. Here's what hours limits miss about how tired people actually are, and the four questions to ask instead.
Georgia Hodkinson · 6 October 2026What exit interviews don't tell you about shift workers
People rarely say "the rota wore me down" on the way out. Here's how to find out anyway.
6 min readThe 04:00 problem: why the circadian low matters to your incident log
A plain-English guide to the body clock, and where it collides with your shift pattern.
7 min readAutomation on the night shift: help or one more thing to watch?
New systems change workload in ways the business case rarely counts.
9 min readChanging a rota without losing the people who work it
Most rota changes fail on consultation, not design. A practical sequence that works.
8 min readForward rotation, explained in one diagram
Why earlies, then lates, then nights is easier on people than the other way round.
4 min readCosting turnover in shift roles: a worked example
Agency cover, overtime, training and lost hours, added up for a 200-person site.
10 min readHandover is a safety-critical task. Treat it like one
Tired people briefing people who have just woken up. What good handover looks like.
6 min readOnce a month