Night work
Night work is defined as work carried out between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Night work requires statutory health checks in occupational health care, when at least 3 night shifts/month or 30 night shifts/year is carried out. In this case, night work is considered an exposure that poses a special risk of illness.
Inspections for night shift workers
Persons working night shifts must undergo an initial inspection, as well as periodic health checks according to separate instructions.
Before the initial inspection, the preliminary information questionnaire, as well as the STOP-Bang questionnaire for night work must be filled out (only available in Finnish).
If the work involves no other exposures, it is sufficient to just fill out the STOP-Bang questionnaire, prior to the periodic health check for night work. If, in addition to night work, the work also involves a threat of violence, the Workplace Violence Survey must also be filled out. For further information, see the Workplace violence page.
Prior to the night work health check, please fill out the STOP-Bang questionnaire under the link provided, and notify your occupational health nurse of the score you received from the questionnaire, in connection with your health check.
Night work health checks are primarily carried out by the workplace’s designated occupational health nurse. You can book an appointment for a statutory initial inspection or periodic health check via our online booking.
Wellbeing for night shift workers
You can read more about night work from the Promoting Well-being and Recovery in Shift Work guidebook by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. It includes information and guidance on balancing shift work and private life, stress management tools, recovery and sleep, diet and exercise, from the shift worker’s perspective.
For more information on sleep disturbances associated with night and shift work, please read the Vuorotyö ja univaikeudet (“Shift work and sleep disturbances”) sections at MentalHub.fi (in Finnish). The website also includes a self-help programme for insomnia.