No one is in peak physical condition every minute of every day, and employees in all lines of work have to worry about the effects of fatigue. However, not all workplaces are created equal in this regard.
A fatigued worker could lead to a major breakdown in a large team-oriented process.
In a conventional office job, fatigue is relatively harmless. Even if an employee dozes off at his desk, the impact is often small like a report going unfinished or an email unanswered. At sites that demand a lot of physical labour, however, the stakes are much higher. A fatigued worker could lead to a major breakdown in a large team-oriented process, and someone could get hurt.
It's important to safeguard against this danger.
What causes workplace fatigue?
Many people think of physical dangers like falls and fires as the chief threats to work site safety, but the truth is that intangible factors like fatigue can be just as bad. According to WorkSafe New Zealand, the safety of your employees might be in jeopardy anytime people are tired and their ability to "perform work safely and effectively" is hindered.
This could happen for any number of reasons. Employees might be tired out because their schedules are too busy, they're sleeping poorly or they're working in unfavorable environments. Additionally, they might have jobs that are too demanding physically, mentally or emotionally. In any event, the hallmark of a good manager is to look out for all of these warning signs and prevent such issues if possible.
How employers can make things better
Fatigue is a very personal thing, and to an extent it's up to the employee to take care of themselves, but managers can definitely help by fine-tuning the work site safety checklist to better prevent fatigue.
WebMD research indicates that sometimes, larger health problems are to blame for an employee's tiredness. Diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, anemia, thyroid disease and sleep apnea are all examples of such conditions, and it may be necessary to screen for them. Additionally, lifestyle changes like exercise levels might help with avoiding excessive fatigue.
Track your progress with our mobile solution
Whatever method you use for curbing employee fatigue issues, it's important to monitor your progress and make sure your efforts are working. For this, you need the right safety software, and there's no better option than SiteApp, a mobile solution that gives you total control over the process.
One of SiteApp's key features is its new and improved capacity for safety documentation. The app makes it easy to create jobs, fill them out and log your progress in a way that all stakeholders can view. It creates an entirely new level of collaborative capability for your staff.