Managing Fatigue at Work

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.
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