CASE STUDY: IMPROVING ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION OF NIGHT WORKERS AT SYSCO GB

SUMMARY

Opportunity: Sysco GB, the UK’s largest foodservice supplier, has a large nighttime workforce who needed support with their sleep and wellbeing.

Solution: Partnering with Night Club, Sysco GB launched an interactive, science-based sleep and wellbeing programme across more than 20 UK sites, giving night workers practical tools and creating an ongoing network of Sleep Champions for peer support.

Impact: Over 1,200 night workers have been engaged in 2025 so far. 87% learned something new to improve the quality of their sleep, many individual sleep success stories and indications of impact on engagement and retention.

OPPORTUNITY

Sysco GB, the UK’s largest foodservice supplier, delivers for its customers 24/7, underpinned by a large night shift team across its UK distribution network. All night workers experience circadian disruption and sleep, fatigue and health issues are all more common among night staff. The business saw an opportunity to direct dedicated support and attention to this staff group - to help individuals and the business at the same time.

NIGHT CLUB’S SOLUTION

Sysco first piloted Night Club in 2022-23. At two large depots they hosted an interactive sleep exhibition, staffed by sleep experts running interactive workshops for small teams. The pilot proved both the scale of the opportunity and the appetite for action: 86% would recommend Night Club and staff shared vital insights for Sysco leaders about the experiences of night work and how they could be supported to thrive.

In 2025, Sysco commissioned a full Night Club programme roll-out. From March to August 2025, Night Club supported locations, with expert facilitators (including clinical psychologists, nutrition experts and sleep scientists) running interactive workshops at night. The Night Club curriculum focused on five key learning areas - Chronotype, Environment, Light, Diet & Exercise, and Mental Health, combining practical demonstrations with non-judgemental advice and easily actionable tips for better sleep.

IMPACT

• Over 1,200 colleagues reached to date (90% attending in-person sessions, the remainder online)

• 87% of participants learned something new to improve the quality of their sleep

• More than two thirds of participants expressed that Night Club shows that their employer has a positive interest in their Wellbeing 

• Many participants have since reported major sleep improvements - including a colleague comment that ‘thanks to Night Club I am sleeping an extra 2 hours per day!'

• Night Club provided benchmarked data on sleep duration and quality for participants, and collated feedback and insight themes from workers to inform Sysco’s wider initiatives to create the best working environment for its night shift. 

Sysco GB report indications that the programme has already improved retention rates and employee engagement.

EMBEDDING CHANGE FOR THE LONG TERM

Sysco has now created a network of 40 trained Night Club Sleep Champions, including four regional leads. These ambassadors share evidence-based sleep tips, motivate peers and induct new night workers, ensuring the benefits are embedded and that a healthier and safer night shift endures.

CONCLUSION

Sysco’s partnership with Night Club demonstrates that investing in night-shift wellbeing is not only about the employer duty of care, but also creating a strategic advantage by boosting engagement and retention while reducing health and safety risks.

Katrina Simpson-Haines, Sysco GB’s Human Resources Director, said: “The night shift is often seen as the forgotten shift, but in our business, they are the largest cohort of colleagues and it’s important that we provide them with the support they need for their unique challenges.

“Night working is notoriously difficult and providing colleagues with some tried and tested approaches to managing sleep patterns and nutrition should help them to have a better experience both at home and in work.”

To find out how Night Club can support your shift workers, book a consultation meeting below.