Reducing fatigue in the workplace
Photo courtesy of CDC.
Fatigue can affect any worker in any job and may have serious consequences for worker safety and health. Providing easy-to-understand information for employers and workers about ways to reduce fatigue will help to minimize risks and improve the safety of all workplaces.
How does fatigue affect workers?
Fatigue has been described as “a feeling of weariness, tiredness or lack of energy.” Fatigue-related safety issues occur every day in the workplace.
Workers who are fatigued might exhibit negative effects of fatigue, such as:
• Lacking energy to do their jobs safely or effectively.
• Having trouble paying attention or taking longer to react to what happens around them.
• Taking more risks that may lead to errors or injuries.
Fatigue-related errors and injuries can happen in the workplace and beyond. Researchers estimate that close to 1 in 8 of all workplace injuries may relate to fatigue. The effects of work-related fatigue can spill over into personal lives and impact public safety. One dangerous example of this spillover happens when fatigued workers drive on public roads. More than 1 in 5 of all fatal vehicle crashes involves a drowsy driver.
What causes fatigue?
Work-related fatigue is complex and can stem from many sources. Individual-level factors, such as a person’s age, health, lifestyle choices, and nonwork responsibilities all contribute to fatigue. Work-related factors, such as night shift work and extended work hours, are often linked with fatigue. These kinds of work schedules can disrupt or shorten workers’ sleep.
Other work-related factors that contribute to fatigue include:
• Performing prolonged physically or mentally demanding tasks.
• Following repetitive routines.
• Working in extreme temperatures.
• Feeling stress.
Because fatigue can result from many factors, it can be difficult to manage. No single solution fits all situations, organizations, or people.
How can we reduce fatigue in the workplace?
Employers can make changes to help workers reduce fatigue. One way is to create work schedules that give workers sufficient time to rest and recover. The length of shifts, short and frequent breaks, and days off in between shifts are all things that employers can consider to limit work-related fatigue. Employers can also give workers information about fatigue reduction strategies that is easy to understand and to use. All employers and workers benefit from learning ways to manage work-related fatigue.
Center for Work and Fatigue Research (CWFR)
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Center for Work and Fatigue Research (CWFR), launched in May 2020. The CFWR collaborates with other government agencies, industry, labor, safety professionals, and scientific researchers. Through these partnerships, the CWFR aims to:
• Raise awareness of various sources of worker fatigue.
• Identify effective methods to assess fatigue-risk in workplaces.
• Reduce health and safety risks associated with workplace fatigue.
What the CFWR does
• Establishes and cultivates national and international partnerships to conduct multi-disciplinary research on work-related fatigue and disseminate study findings.
• Evaluates the effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability of fatigue monitoring and detection technologies, educational materials, and organizational strategies to better understand the benefits and challenges of various methods to reduce workplace fatigue.
• Promotes a holistic approach to managing work-related fatigue by developing guidance and recommendations to manage risks, educational and informational resources, non-punitive reporting protocols, and feedback mechanisms to ensure methods remain effective.
• Actively disseminates new findings and knowledge through various communication channels to reach different worker and employer audiences for greater impact.
Learn more here: www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/ppops/cwfr.html.