Fatigue and occupational drowsiness are side effects of modern industrial civilization. Fatigue is a complex biological condition due to time awake, time of day, workload, health, and off-duty lifestyle. Fatigue is caused by two key biological factors: the homeostatic desire for sleep and the circadian rhythm of sleepiness. Inadequate or interrupted sleep is the most common cause of weariness.
Excessive drowsiness in the workplace and on roads is a severe safety problem, and insufficient or interrupted sleep leads to frequent accidents and adverse mental and physical health effects. Evidence-based interventions state that better sleep is promoted due to improved work/rest cycles can help to reduce the impact of tiredness and sleep loss. Proper nap and sleep schedules, work breaks, modeling and monitoring tools, tiredness detection technology, and medication countermeasures can all help.
But what precisely is fatigue? Want to know more about this condition arising in our modern society? Keep on reading!
Table of Contents
WHAT IS WORK FATIGUE ?
Work fatigue is described as excessive exhaustion, and diminished functional ability felt during and after a workday. Given that we have three kinds of energetic resources – fatigue due to physical, mental, and emotional – there can be three kinds of job fatigue:
- Tiredness from Physical Labor
- Exhaustion from Mental Work
- Fatigue from Emotional Work
Physical work tiredness is when your employees are physically exhausted and have a reduced ability to do physical tasks throughout or after the workday.
Mental work fatigue is when your employees are mentally exhausted and have a reduced capacity to engage in any cognitive activity throughout and after the workday.
Emotional work exhaustion is a situation in which your employees are exceptionally emotionally weary and are unable to engage in any intense activity throughout or after the working day.
TOP REASONS TO FEEL EXHAUSTED :
Employees may feel exhausted for a variety of reasons, including :
• Sleep deprivation
• Extensive working hours
• Exhaustion from prolonged exertion
• Workplace is excessively hot and gloomy
• Repeated tasks
• Poor dietary habits
• Anxious work/home situation
SIGNS OF SYMPTOMS OF FEELING EXHAUSTED :
The impact of weariness on performance may have a range of effects on a person’s performance. Tired people are more easily distracted, have less concentration, forget things more readily, take longer to solve issues, make more mistakes, have slower response times, and take more risks than others. In the worst-case scenario, they may fall asleep while driving!
However, weariness poses a concern to transportation safety that is not restricted to vehicle operators. Individuals in other professions, including managers who plan work and monitor operations, traffic control officers, mechanics, technicians, luggage handlers, and those providing customer service, can also negatively influence safety if their performance is hampered by weariness.
Tiredness can also cause a person to become irritated or irritable, affecting the performance of people around them. Like among the various signs and symptoms, it’s like one feels:
Excessively drowsy – which makes one unable to remain awake
Memory Gaps – Rising Forgetfulness
Slower reaction times- response time slows down
Difficulty focusing – weaker decision-making ability
Reduced ability to:
● concentrate and avoid distraction
● think laterally and analytically
● make decisions
● remember and recall events and their sequences
● maintain vigilance
● control emotions
● appreciate the complex situation
● recognize risks
● coordinate hand-eye movements, and
● communicate effectively
In a more expanding way, people who are experiencing fatigue will experience:
1. Tiredness, Weariness, or Sleepiness :
Dropping heads, persistent yawning, and eyes that appear to be shutting are the most visible signs that a worker is tired and requires time to recuperate before costly errors or accidents occur.
2. Irritability :
Workers might get irritable for various reasons, including troubles at home, financial stress, and disagreement with coworkers, but one of them is a lack of sleep. It’s good to watch for irritation patterns or a newly created “poor attitude,” especially when accompanied by other symptoms on this list.
3. Reduced Vigilance, Attention, or Memory :
Those employees appear to be having difficulty focusing or can’t recall apparently easy things, such as what they just did or said. Having difficulty addressing problems might sometimes be an indication of exhaustion.
4. Inadequate Motivation :
Employees who appear to have lost motivation to do their job (and do it effectively) may seem lazy, but this is usually a symptom of a more significant problem.
5. Increased Errors or Delayed judgment :
If a person who has previously demonstrated to be knowledgeable and effective at their job begins to make frequent blunders or poor choices, this might indicate sleep deprivation or weariness.
6. Migraines :
Headaches might indicate exhaustion, but they can also indicate dehydration. Before attributing it to weariness, ensure that all staff are well-hydrated while on the job – even if they are not working in hot surroundings.
7. Increasingly iLL :
Employees who are suddenly taking more time off due to sickness may feel fatigued. Inadequate sleep depletes the body’s energy and impairs its capacity to fight off colds, flus, and other ailments. It is relatively unusual to witness increased absenteeism and sick days when weariness grows.
HOW DOES FATIGUE AFFECT WORKPLACE PERFORMANCE?
Fatigue has natural, observable consequences in the workplace. The most alarming is the rise in the number of accidents and injuries, a detrimental impact on decision-making, and decreased productivity. Fatigue affects individuals and companies both directly and indirectly. Like it leads to:
Increased accidents:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports even state that drowsy driving causes 2.6 percent of fatal crashes annually.AAA also suggests that figure is much higher, with an estimated 17 percent of deadly crashes involving drowsy drivers.
Increased errors:
A 2012 report by the World Health Organization identified fatigue as a factor that predisposes healthcare workers to medical error and injury. Thus, stating it as a significant cause of mistakes and problems.
Impaired performance and loss in productivity:
Fatigue decreases reaction time and accuracy in decision-making. Fatigued people tend to have reduced attention spans and impaired memory. They may also be impulsive and prone to misunderstandings.
Increased medical costs:
The Health and Productivity as a Business Strategy study attempted to break down the costs of fatigue by matching medical and pharmacy claims to specific health conditions. Fatigue even ranked as the 13th most expensive condition.
TAKING A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF WORKER FATIGUE :
Employees obviously play a part in avoiding tiredness, and some of the causes extend outside the workplace, but there are several things employers can do to decrease weariness at work. An effective strategy for tiredness risk management should include some or all of the following:
● Shift scheduling has regular schedules, frequent breaks, two consecutive days off per week, and no more than four-night shifts in succession.
● Workloads and personnel must be balanced.
● System for reporting fatigue-related occurrences.
● Workplace design: cool climate, low humidity, enough natural light, little noise and vibrations.
● Employee education on tiredness and sleep difficulties.
● Supervisor and management training on monitoring and recognizing worker weariness.
● Offering a sleep disorder insurance plan.
Conclusion
While energy slumps are inevitable during the day, they don’t have to be so severe that productivity suffers. You can maintain your energy levels throughout the day by modifying how you eat, think, exercise, and sleep.
One can create a safe, healthy, and productive work environment for themselves and the whole team by diagnosing weariness and taking proactive actions before it becomes an issue. So, be active and live healthy and happy that’s what life is for.
FAQs:
Q: Why is fatigue getting so much attention now, although it has never been a problem before?
Ans: Fatigue has changed dramatically in recent years. As more individuals work shifts and other unusual work schedules, the risk of fatigue-related accidents rises. This danger is exacerbated by the growing usage of high-powered machinery, where the margin for error is narrow and the potential repercussions of accidents are severe.
Q: Is it possible to become unwell as a result of fatigue?
Ans: There is evidence that shift workers have an increased risk of heart disease and various malignancies. For example, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared in 2010 that shift employment that disrupts the circadian rhythm is “probably” harmful to humans.
Q: Why do humans require sleep?
Ans: Humans that were sleep deprived for an extended period of time had symptoms such as hand tremors, slurred speech, increased sensitivity to pain, and decreased mental and physical performance.
Q: What can one do to avoid fatigue when working the night shift?
Ans:
- Avoid lengthy commutes and working nights and weekends.
- Throughout the shift, take brief naps.
- Collaborate with others to help you stay aware.
- Attempt to stay active during breaks (e.g., take a walk, shoot hoops in the parking lot, or even exercise).
