How Fatigue Affects Workers

Fatigue is something that every worker will experience at some point in time. Maybe you stayed up late the night before, or perhaps your boss asked you to work a double shift. Regardless, fatigue such as this can affect both workers' performance and their safety.

Muscoluskeletal Pain

According to a recent study published in theJournal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, sleep deficiency is closely linked to musculoskeletal pain. Researchers from the study found that workers who were fatigued and didn't get enough sleep were more likely to experience musculoskeletal pain. More specially, roughly one in two nurses who were sleep-deprived reported pain.

Impaired Driving

Another way in which fatigue affects workers involves driving. Numerous government-sponsored studies indicate that fatigue impairs drivers in the same way as alcohol. If you go for 17 hours without sleep, for instance, your driving impairment is roughly the same as having a blood alcohol level of 0.05%.

Lower Productivity

When a worker is fatigued, he or she will produce less work. It's just that simple. As an employer, these lower productivity levels can prove disastrous to your normal operations. You'll notice things less fewer sales and leads (among others). So, invest the necessary resources into reducing worker fatigue, as this will likely have a positive impact on workers' productivity levels.

Slower Reaction Times

Not surprisingly, fatigue also creates lower reaction times among workers. When a worker doesn't get enough sleep -- or otherwise experiences fatigue -- he or she will react slower on the job. This creates a dangerous scenario, as slower reaction times can lead to serious injury or even death.

Of course, these are just a few of the many ways that fatigue affects workers. Employers should take a proactive approach towards reducing worker fatigue. See below for some tips on how to reduce and prevent worker fatigue:

• Require workers to take mandatory breaks.
• Use a buddy system in which two workers watch each other for signs of fatigue.
• Rotate day and night shift work. If one worker is given a night shift on Monday, perhaps a different worker can be given the night shift on Tuesday.
• Increase lighting in your workplace, via either artificial or natural light -- or a combination of both.
• Create a comfortable working environment that's ergonomically designed to minimize fatigue.