November 1, 2024

New ‘Sleepless Job Chart’ Reveals Which Workers Are Most Sleep-Deprived

Early Bird has analysed data from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to determine which industries are the most sleep-deprived, and has created a Sleepless Job Chart that breaks the results down into sectors and jobs.

The top 10 most sleep-deprived jobs (percentage of workers who get less than 7 hours of sleep each night) were:

1 Communications Equipment Operators – 58.2% get less than 7 hours of sleep
2 Other Transportation Workers – 54% get less than 7 hours of sleep
3 Rail Transportation Workers – 52.7% get less than 7 hours of sleep
4 Printing Workers – 50.9% get less than 7 hours of sleep
5 Plant and System Operators – 49.6% get less than 7 hours of sleep
6 Production Workers – 48.9% get less than 7 hours of sleep
7 Food Preparation and Serving Workers – 48.9% get less than 7 hours of sleep
8 Firefighters – 45.8% get less than 7 hours of sleep
9 Production Occupations – 45.6% get less than 7 hours of sleep
10 Extraction Workers – 45.3% get less than 7 hours of sleep

The data reveals that Communications Equipment Operators, such as telephone operators in the emergency services sector, are the most sleep-deprived, with over half of employees in this sector reporting they get less than 7 hours a night.

Transportation workers in the Maintenance, Engineering & Construction sector were close behind them, with 54% of workers getting less than seven hours a night. The survey conducted by Early Bird also reveals that over 20% of workers have fallen asleep at work or on their lunch break, therefore getting the average 7-hours a night is essential to making sure you’re switched on when it comes to work.

Just below half (48.9%) of food preparation and serving workers (waiters) get less than seven hours of sleep each night – it can be presumed that they are in the catering and hospitality business and work later hours than the standard 9-5 worker.

Air Transportation Workers, Religious Workers and Supervisors and Managers are amongst the occupations that are getting the most sleep – with less than a quarter (21%) of them saying they have more than the recommended seven hours of sleep a night. Just 1 in 10 of people surveyed said their job negatively impacts their sleep. Closely following these professions with having the best night’s sleep are Postsecondary Teachers and Instructors who fall into the Education, Training & Library sector. Not only are these teachers getting more than seven-plus hours of sleep a night, but the survey conducted by Early Bird reveals that nearly a third (31.8%) of people actually sleep better in a cool bedroom (16-18°C).

With the Maintenance, Engineering & Construction sector coming out twice in the top three most sleep-deprived occupations, some jobs in this sector also came out as getting the most sleep each night. Less than 30% of Ground Maintenance Workers and Supervisors of Installation, Maintenance and Repair Workers revealed they struggle with sleep, meaning that the majority (70%+) are sleeping just fine.

April Mayer, Staff Writer at Early Bird, comments:

“Sleep is an important factor in our life – it helps us recuperate and tackle the day ahead of us with all our energy. Without it we’d eventually start to feel fatigued, lazy and it would begin affecting work performance and productivity.

“It’s recommended by professionals all over the world that we get seven hours – if not more – sleep a night, so when our research revealed that the majority of professions are not getting those all-important zzz’s in, it did spark concern. If your job is affecting your sleep and reducing the amount of hours you physically can put aside to get some shut-eye, some tips to improve your short sleep spells include: having a silk pillow, spraying sleep mist on your bed sheets and doing a quick 10 minute yoga sessions before bed.”