Fatigue in the Workplace
Fatigue in the Workplace had diverse effects on productivity as well as the toll on the year-end balance sheet.
Fatigue makes fools of us all. It robs us of our skills, our judgment, and blinds us to creative solutions.
Harvey Mackay
Fatigue in the Workplace defines mental or physical exhaustion that reduces one’s capacity to perform work safely and effectively. A person feels exhausted, weary, or sleepy, which result in decreased performance and an increase in job site accidents. The employees deal with extreme exhaustion when they unable to get proper rest they needed. Working tired is equal to the state of drunk. So, it is common for workers to experience delayed reactions, confusion, and even fall asleep during their shift.
So, as an employer, make sure your workers are not undergoing signs or effects of Fatigue in the Workplace. You can help make your employees and your workplace safer by including information on fatigue and sleep in your orientations and safety guidelines. You can also produce a fatigue management plan.
However, by taking the easy steps towards managing fatigue in the workplace, employers can save millions and even improve the quality of life for all employees.
What are the common reasons for Fatigue in the Workplace?
The Fatigue in the Workplace is silently prowling to many industries across the world. However, the causes aren’t always work-related. Some of the most noticeable reasons for fatigue include:
- Travel
- Strenuous activity
- Sleep loss or disrupted sleep
- Long commutes to and from work
- Extremely hot or cold work environments
- Prolonged or intense mental or physical activity
- Irregular work scheduling or excessively long shifts
Workers at high risk for fatigue include:
- Shift workers
- Night workers
- On-call workers
- Seasonal workers
- Emergency service providers
- Fly-in/fly-out or drive-in/drive-out workers
- Medical professionals and other health workers
Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment.
Dale Carnegie
How to identify a Fatigued worker
Safety managers and supervisors need to know the signs of fatigue as fatigued workers can put themselves or others at risk. Find out a few key things below to watch out and identify fatigued workers in your office.
1. Weariness, tiredness or Sleepiness
The most obvious indicators that a fatigued worker shows are incessant yawning heads dropping down and eyelids seems to be closing. You need to give him some time to recover before costly errors or accidents happen.
2. Reduced Alertness, Concentration, or Memory
Another indicator of Fatigue in the Workplace is having trouble solving problems. You need to watch for workers who appear to have difficulty to focus or who can’t be able to recall even simple things. You can find it out from what they said or did.
3. Increased Mistakes
If a worker proven to be good at their job starts making frequent mistakes or poor choices, it might be a sign of fatigue. He lacks the motivation to do the job.
4. Headaches
Headaches are another sign of fatigue, but they can also be a sign of dehydration. Before chalking it up to exhaustion, make sure all workers are adequately hydrated while on the job even when they aren’t in hot environments.
5. Increased illness
Employees who are suddenly taking more time off due to health issues may be experiencing fatigue. Insufficient sleep wears their body down and affects its ability to fight off colds, flu, and other diseases.
Fatigue roughens up the edges of your nerves; it exposes your fears and your weaknesses.
June Havoc
How fatigue affects the workplace?
Fatigue in the Workplace can affect prolonged mental activity or long periods of stress or anxiety. It can have authentic, tangible effects on the workplace. The most concerning ones are it can cause a negative influence on decision-making, lower productivity or an increased rate of accidents and injuries.
- Poor Decision Making
The fatigued workers don’t even realise that they were taking higher risks when they lacked sleep. As they are under the clutches of fatigue, they tempt to make impulsive and dangerous decisions without recognizing it. It could also upset the health and safety of other employees or customers.
- Lower Productivity
Fatigued workers get less productivity than an ordinary worker. They feel exhausted and unable to work properly to give their best on work. It can increase the working hours of the employee, decrease output and performance, high injury and compensation costs to workers and greater absenteeism due to fatigue-related illnesses.
- Increased Incidence of Injuries
Fatigue reduces alertness, lower concentration, and impairs motor skills, which increase accidents and injuries. They exhibit impaired performance levels, have response speeds that are half as slow as well-rested employees. These fatigued staffs also had worse hand-eye coordination, depth perception, and balance. It is extremely dangerous for those who work at height, use power tools, or operate heavy machinery.
What is the remedy for Fatigue in the Workplace?
Employees can certainly avoid some of the cause of fatigue and prevent it at the workplace, but there are still several things employers can do to reduce fatigue at work. Given below is a practical approach to fatigue risk management, you should take into consideration.
- Schedule consistent shifts, frequent breaks, two consecutive days off each week, and no more than four-night shifts in a row
- Balancing staffing and workloads
- A reporting system for fatigue-related incidents
- Design a workplace with a calm surrounding, plenty of natural light, low humidity, and minimal noise and vibrations
- Employee training on fatigue and managing sleep disorders
- Supervisor and management training on monitoring and identifying fatigue in workers
- Offering an insurance plan that covers sleep disorders
Fatigue can have a more significant impact on your work performance. By identifying fatigue in your workers and taking dynamic measures before it becomes an issue, you can develop a safe, healthy, and productive work environment for your entire team.
In the mountains, fatigue is the biggest controllable limitation that will come between you and success.
Steve House
