How Fatigue Impacts Workplace Safety

Dear Team,     Let’s be honest—most of us are running on fumes. We’re working 8+ hour shifts, coming home to clean, cook, and help with homework. Then we’re off again, driving kids to sports, dance, or other activities Or you’re single, staying busy with friends, volunteering, studying for your next career, or grinding through a second job… After all that? Maybe an hour to unwind—if we’re lucky. Because of this fast-paced lifestyle, many of us come to work already fatigued. We push through by reaching for energy drinks, coffee, or other stimulants, but these don’t replace real rest—they just mask the exhaustion. Here’s why that’s dangerous: 🧠 Reduced focus increases the chance of mistakes ⚙️ Slower reaction times can lead to accidents around machinery or vehicles ⚡ Poor decision-making puts yourself and your team at risk Fatigue can be just as impairing as alcohol. And unlike a bruise or a cut, you can't see it coming—but the damage can be just as serious. 💡 Tips to Fight Fatigue Safely: Aim for 7–9 hours of sleep each night Take breaks during the day—step away, hydrate, and stretch If you're feeling too tired to work safely, speak up. Safety comes first. Limit overuse of stimulants—they can disrupt your natural rest cycle Remember: Fatigue doesn’t always look like someone falling asleep—it can be irritability, zoning out, or even working on autopilot. Don’t ignore the signs. Let’s look out for ourselves and each other. “Safety takes time, so take the time for safety.” Dwayne Smith

There ya have it... Fatigue is widely recognized as a significant contributor to workplace incidents, as it can significantly impair judgment, reaction time, and overall alertness, leading to increased risk of accidents and injuries when employees are tired. Key points about fatigue and workplace incidents: Impact on performance: When fatigued, workers are more likely to make mistakes, miss safety cues, and have slower response times, increasing the likelihood of accidents. Causes of workplace fatigue: Factors like long working hours, irregular shifts (especially night shifts), demanding work schedules, poor sleep hygiene, long commutes, and stressful work environments can all contribute to fatigue. Industries at risk: Industries with high-risk tasks, like manufacturing, construction, transportation, and healthcare, are particularly vulnerable to fatigue-related incidents. How to manage fatigue in the workplace: Implement healthy work schedules: Limit overtime, rotate shifts to minimize disruption to circadian rhythms, and provide adequate rest breaks. Promote good sleep hygiene: Educate employees on the importance of quality sleep and provide resources to improve sleep habits. Address workplace stressors: Identify and mitigate work-related stressors that can contribute to fatigue. Monitor for fatigue signs: Train supervisors to recognize signs of fatigue in employees, such as decreased alertness, slow reaction times, and increased errors. 

Fatigue: A Hidden Challenge to the Public Sector Workforce A new blog post by Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene of Barrett and Greene Inc. for the IBM Center for The Business of Government, based on their white paper for UKG. "A worn-out workforce jeopardizes effectiveness and productivity and leads to unplanned and unexplained absences, and declining levels of customer satisfaction," write Barrett and Greene. The need for #overtime in a workforce crunch frequently means people in the public sector work for hours on end. The result: Going for 18 straight hours with no sleep is equal to having a blood alcohol level of .05, which results in euphoria, lower inhibitions and exaggerated emotions according to a report by the University of Toronto. Meanwhile, people who stay awake for 24 hours in a row may act as though they had a blood alcohol level of .10, which results in impairment in balance, speech, vision and reaction time as well as self-control, according to the same study. Are these the issues you want confronting, police officers, correction officers and fire fighters? Daniel Chenok Linda Misegadis, CPP, CPM, CCM, IPMA-CP Bob Lavigna, IPMA-HR SCP Leslie Scott https://lnkd.in/eAkgENt6