Workplace fatigue, while often accepted as a hallmark of modern professional culture, can pose a difficulty for members of staff, employers and businesses alike. No matter the size and scope of a company, a high level of output can potentially lead to fatigue amongst a group, team or collection of staff, as well as individuals on a case-by-case basis. Whether junior or senior, experienced or fresh, everyone has the potential to become overworked and subsequently fatigued, as well as potential tiredness that can amalgamate due to a host of medical or personal challenges in the experience of an individual throughout all the moments of their day, not just at work. There are, however, a few ways to monitor and manage potential fatigue within a workplace, with a myriad of benefits on offer for both members of staff and business owners. Keep reading to discover signs of fatigue in the workplace and learn how to both prevent and manage these symptoms.
What is Fatigue and What Causes Fatigue In The Workplace?
Fatigue refers to tiredness and exhaustion, it surpasses the common feeling of being tired to more of an acute state that is all-encompassing once experienced. In the workplace, fatigue can severely impact an employee’s ability to work and perform tasks at the level required. This can sometimes impact the overall safety standards within a company environment. Symptoms can include:
- Tiredness regardless of how much sleep was achieved.
- Reduced hand-eye coordination capability and dulled reflexes.
- Short-term memory loss.
- Inability to concentrate.
- Blurred vision or impaired perceptive abilities.
These symptoms can be both acute and chronic, with both manifestations posing a significant hindrance to the ability of an employee to perform tasks and duties within their job description.
Are Some Industries at Higher Risk Than Others?
While workplace fatigue can occur in all industries, there are some circumstances where advanced rates of exhaustion and fatigue can pose a higher safety risk than in others. For jobs with a high danger category including transportation, mining, construction and manufacturing, a mistake on the job may result in serious injuries, higher needs for workplace compensation and some even mortality. These risks mean that fatigue and exhaustion need to be approached with a serious and careful attitude.
How To Prevent Fatigue In The Workplace
There are a few proactive measures that employers can take in order to mitigate, minimise and treat exhaustion and fatigue in the workplace. These include but are not limited to:
Provide Education
Educating employees on the symptoms, risks and potential harm of fatigue can help them to identify when they may be experiencing exhaustion. Signs and symptoms are a helpful way for individuals to raise their hand when they feel that their performance at work is beginning to be impacted by their levels of tiredness or exhaustion. This means that they can flag this as an issue and steps can be taken to treat the exhaustion, resulting in a more readily return to usual operations and satisfactory safety standards in the workplace at large.
Limit Overtime
Too much overtime can impact an individual’s overall health, well-being and energy levels. This will lead to fatigue and may impact your workplace operations and overall business productivity. In order to curb the impacts of a high rate of overtime, put regulations in place to limit or diminish this as a component of your company culture. Setting these boundaries and guidelines will mean that your workplace begins with a people-first environment that does not reward excessive levels of productivity.
Encourage Holidays
In keeping with fostering a healthy and balanced workplace, encouraging workers to take their accrued leave as listed in their wage, rewards and benefits will help to ensure that everyone on your team is well-rested and equipped for the requirements of their job description. When a worker has gone too long without taking a holiday, encourage them to do so through a friendly reminder or with the assistance of your people and culture team. Regular holidays help to maintain a necessary work-life balance and will in turn contribute to a healthy and productive team of employees.
Facilitate An Open Culture
Ensure that your company is a safe place to speak up when an employee is experiencing fatigue within themselves, or noticing symptoms of exhaustion in others. This simple switch is highly impactful and makes more of a difference than you might think.
Invest In Routine Health Checks
Invest in routine health checks and understand the helpful measures you can take to ensure injury prevention in your workplace to aid levels of fatigue within your professional working environment. Logic Health provides a powerful suite of services to assist with injury prevention and ongoing occupational health. These include the likes of ergonomic assessments, early intervention programs, manual handling training, stretching guides, COVID screening, seminars, job task analysis, flu vaccinations and onsite medical services. All of these offerings will drastically transform the overall levels of health and well-being in your business, helping to boost energy levels, safety and productivity.
Continued Support For Workers
Investing in long-term strategies such as ongoing employee health checks and medicals can help to identify signs of fatigue as well as any other potentially hazardous issues that can arise within a dangerous workplace. This will also help you to build a powerful database of company health data to refer to in the case of employee compensation reports or disputes, company history or employment referrals as well as appraisals. The team at Logic Health can assist you with a long-term, ongoing employee workplace health plan that will bring routine wellness measures into your offering. As well as boosting workplace wellness and productivity, this also serves as a strong pillar in your overarching company offering, helping to strengthen your brand and attract talent in the future.
Contact Logic Health for more support on how to prevent fatigue in the workplace and to begin your journey towards a more energised, productive and healthy environment today. Regardless of your industry, the team is here to help create a customised suite of services that will bring powerful benefits to your business.