The other 9 to 5

For many, the 24/7 economy has become an indispensible part of life - calling a help desk after midnight to fix a computer glitch or dropping by the local minimart before daybreak on a fishing excursion are conveniences we simply take for granted.

Far fewer of us, however, actually work those wee hours of darkness.

Employees who work shifts between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. accounted for just 3.5 percent of the full-time workforce in 1997, according to the most recent survey data available from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But their ranks are growing, note experts in night-shift issues.

Global competition, instant communications, and changing consumer habits have prompted many US companies to start operating around-the-clock, says Dean Croke, a consultant at Circadian Technologies, a Lexington, Mass., firm that advises employers on safety and efficiency issues associated with 24-hour operations.

"Businesses have looked at economic models and say, 'We only run our plant 12 hours a day, why not run it 24 hours a day?' " says Mr. Croke, noting that there is great pressure on companies to utilize assets that otherwise sit idle.

A study by Circadian last year found that 23 million people in the US work outside the traditional 9 a.m.-to-5 p.m. block, including those on the night shift. That's up from 19 million a decade earlier, Croke notes.

Still, night-shift work remains concentrated in public-service-oriented jobs: police officers, firefighters, hospital workers. Night-shift work also is common in some goods-producing industries - like mining and chemical manufacturing - where it is more efficient to operate continuously than to shut down at the end of the day and start up again the next morning.

The Bureau of Labor Statistic's 1997 survey found that men were somewhat more likely than women to work nights.

Those who had never been married found themselves on the night shift more often than their married counterparts.

While some people enjoy the flexibility of working nights, there are "a lot of problems" that result from flipping the body's normal rhythms, Croke notes, including sleep deficits that can add up to an entire night's shut-eye in one week.

"The physical strain is incredible," he says, pointing to various ailments that some have linked to sleep deprivation, not the least of them being impaired judgement.

Circadian Technologies will tell a company it's OK to use the 24/7 model, Croke says, "but they must have countermeasures to ensure people don't fall apart at the seams."

Such measures include illuminating the workplace with bright lights, setting the temperature at a cool 68-70 degrees F., and introducing a napping strategy that may feature a darkened nap room, where employees can recharge without distractions.

A look at how some workers make it through the night:

It's early in the morning at RealNetworks' Real Broadcast Network in Seattle, and there's just one man running the show.

At the helm of RBN's impressive, glass-window-enclosed Broadcast Operations Center (BOC) sits Deva Maheswaran, a Sri Lankan native with a disarming, gentle sense of humor.

Deep inside RealNetworks' downtown Seattle headquarters, Mr. Maheswaran spends his work nights watching over a panoply of live video and audio feed - streaming media, as it's called - delivering news, information, and entertainment to Web surfers everywhere.

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