What Can Employers Do to Fight Fatigue?
Mitigating workplace fatigue may be well worth the resources and effort.
Dr. Geoffrey Calvert, MD, a NIOSH senior epidemiologist and part of the team that conducted an expansive survey on fatigue and shift work, suggests that it is more important than ever to “understand who may be at risk” to determine more effective interventions, which “often need to be customized to the specific employer and worker.”
Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommendations mirror Dr. Calvert’s:
- Examine staffing and understaffing, workload, work hours, and scheduled or unscheduled worker absences.
- Arrange schedules to include opportunities for breaks and nighttime sleep.
- Adjust physical surroundings in the work environment, such as lighting and temperature, to increase alertness.
- Offer worker education and training to address symptoms of worker fatigue, its impact on health and relationships, and the importance of adequate sleep, diet and exercise.
Dr. Calvert also recommends avoiding night shifts that exceed eight hours.