Have you been sleeping poorly, feeling mental or physical
strain at work, or experiencing stress or anxiety, particularly due to the
Covid-19 pandemic? Any of these factors can lead to fatigue, a major workplace
hazard.
It’s easy to confuse fatigue with feeling tired, but it’s
more than that. Everyone feels tired at some point but this is usually resolved
with a nap or a few nights of good sleep. Signs of fatigue include:
- tiredness even after sleep
- reduced hand-eye coordination or slow reflexes
- short-term memory problems and an ability to concentrate
- blurred vision or impaired visual perception
- a need for extended sleep during days off work
What causes fatigues?
Fatigue is often a combination of personal and work issues.
Personal issues include lifestyle factors, such as poor diet and lack of
exercise, and psychological factors, such as depression, anxiety, stress or
grief.
Workplace issues that can cause fatigue include:
- Prolonged or intense mental or physical activity. It's not just physical workers who get fatigued - fatigue affects all types of employees.
- Shift work causing disruption to your internal body clock.
- Exceptionally hot or cold working environments.
- Workplace stress, such as organisational change, job dissatisfaction, conflict, or an ongoing stressful situation.
- A strenuous job or excessively long shifts.
- Long commuting times.
Fatigue affects your mental and
physical health, but it can also impact the safety of those around you. When
your alertness, reaction times and concentration are reduced, your ability to
make good decisions is affected. This can increase the risk of incidents and
injury at work.
Your Responsibilities
Your employer has a
responsibility to provide a safe working environment and that includes
addressing factors that could contribute to worker fatigue.
But as an employee you also have
a duty to take reasonable care for your own safety and health, and to ensure
your acts or omissions don’t impact the health or safety of others.
To reduce the risk of being
involved in a work incident caused by fatigue:
- Look after yourself, Make sure you get enough sleep and recovery time when you're away from work, and seek medical help if you're concerned about your health.
- Watch for signs of fatigue. This means monitoring your own (and others') level of alertness and concentration.
- Talk to your supervisor about managing your fatigue. This might mean taking a break or shift naps, drinking water, or doing some stretching or physical exercise.