Fatigue prevention

Take home messages

• Create high productivity, low risk, and positive culture workplaces.
• Increase productivity across the board.

Background

Workplace fatigue costs lives and it costs money. Fatigued workers:

• Are less able to concentrate on tasks.
• Have a reduced capacity to make decisions.
• Make more mistakes.
• Struggle to feel motivated.
• Are more likely to use dangerous stimulant drugs.
• Are more likely to be involved in or create conflict.
• Are more likely to miss shifts and take ‘sickies’.
• Have a higher likelihood of traffic accidents when driving, especially post shift.
• Need greater supervision and direction.

The benefits of learning how to mitigate fatigue

The benefit of learning how to prevent fatigue include:

• Fully engaged people which contribute to their work and personal life.
• Shifting attitudes and changes in behaviour.
• Creation of a new, exciting and ongoing culture of self-care and care for team mates and family.

Education about the many causes of fatigue, and how and why those things cause fatigue enable you to avoid common issues.

Understanding simple and clear tips as to what can be done to prevent those causes inspires a willingness to create change for the benefit of all around you.

Implement the first steps that produce palpable results, which leads to the motivation to take more steps.

Causes of fatigue

What causes daytime or wake time fatigue? Is it poor sleep? Perhaps it is, but how does one explain incessant yawning, drowsiness and lethargy during a day following an eight or nine hour sleep? Fatigue is a multi-faceted challenge and requires understanding and knowledge to ensure that it can be kept at bay, or even eliminated. Energy drinks and stimulants are not a good answer. Over time, these may well have a negative impact on the health of the body, leading to additional problems, and possibly more fatigue. Energy drinks and other stimulants, in a hot climate can increase the risks of heatstroke, workplace accidents and death.

Learning to manage fatigue

Begin to educate, inspire and empower your people to gain mastery over fatigue to reduce risk, workplace presenteeism and absenteeism, and to improve productivity, enthusiasm, culture and enjoyment of life. It is important that employees go home at the end of the day, and when they do go home, have energy to engage with their families and play with their kids.

The key to combatting fatigue is within our human physiology and the importance of fully oxygenated blood flowing to the brain at optimum rate and volume. When oxygen delivery to the brain is compromised, fatigue quickly sets in. There are two factors that commonly cause fatigue; low oxygen saturation in the blood and sub-optimal blood volume and there are many triggers that influence these two factors.

Most people battle through the effects of fatigue daily, then blame workload, not enough sleep or stress. Mental fatigue is a common problem that is not well understood, yet easily overcome.

Sleep is also a key factor that needs to be addressed. Some people need four hours per night whereas others need nine hours. And some spend nine hours in bed and sleep for less than four hours. Many things can compromise sleep quality. Did you know that snoring and sleep apnoea can both be rectified within two to three weeks?

Conclusion

Some simple strategies implemented into your daily routine can become a powerful and life changing force in combatting daytime fatigue.

Contact details

John Toomey
The Fatigue Prevention Company
0415 844 919
johnt@avatarepcpacific.com