It was a big victory for Martine. In 2023, this former nurse at Sarreguemines hospital learned that her breast cancer, detected in 2009, was recognized as an occupational disease by the Moselle medical council. The end of a long fight for the retiree, which highlighted the dangerousness of night work: Martine had worked on call for twenty-eight years.
This recognition has confirmed the link between work pace and the appearance of tumors, mentioned by numerous studies. “The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers that night work has a probable carcinogenic effect”confirms Thierry Amouroux, spokesperson for the National Union of Nursing Professionals.
In particular, the disruption of sleep and activity schedules, which will disrupt circadian rhythms – the internal clock. “Our profession is seriously affected by this problem”, continues Mr. Amouroux. The decision in Moselle could snowball. Many employees affected by the same pathology are now contacting the CFDT Mineurs de Lorraine, which supported Martine in her fight.
Breast cancer is part of the long list of proven or probable “health risks” linked to atypical working hours. Cardiovascular problems, diabetes, hormonal disturbances, weight gain, psychological disorders… Night, shift, evening or on-call work has deleterious effects on the body. By desynchronizing our biological clock and at the same time accumulating a chronic sleep debt, employees are putting their health at risk.
Stress and irritability
At the same time, their efficiency is reduced during their activity. Fatigue affects concentration and alertness, just as it can promote stress and irritability. “Within companies, we note, as a result, a higher risk of accident, but also an increase in absenteeism, indicates Philippe Cabon, teacher-researcher at Paris Cité University. Another problem: presenteeism. Employees go to work in a poor state of health, which will lead to a drop in productivity and more errors in the execution of tasks. »
These phenomena are observed with even more attention as the use of atypical working hours increases. “We have entered a “24/7” society which puts away the day-night alternation, summarizes Mr. Cabon. Previously, this mainly concerned the transport sector and industry. Services are now increasingly affected: the opening hours of stores are increasing, on-call duties are being put in place at night, in IT for example…”
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